Spooky-Scary-Skeleton
by Altiria-Aty
Summary: Holly is cursed, or so everyone says because her shadow is a literal skeleton. Proclaimed a Dark Lady before she even knows she's a witch Holly needs to fight constantly to survive. Brook lives without a shadow until he dies his body, and when he finds his way back to his body, his shadow has finally appeared. Trapped, she is the only reason he remains sane until Moria takes her.
1. Chapter 1

Brook had one single comfort in the darkness he'd become trapped in. One thing that kept him going through the endless night. His shadow.

Before he'd become a skeleton, before he'd died Brook was one of the rare few who did not have a shadow and therefore did not have a soul-mate. Though if he asked he'd said it had never truly bothered him. Brook was optimistic, and he knew that sometimes people didn't have shadows. This was typically because one half of a pair was born too early, and most of the time, the older pair would gain their shadow by the time they were ten. Brook had not. But Brook still remained hopeful that he'd earn his eventually.

Even as he joined the Rumbar pirates and started to travel the world. Even as he had people at every island stare when Brook walked in the sun without a thing behind him. Brook kept the faith, kept smiling, and kept playing music and enjoying life. He did not need a soul-mate or even a significant other to make him happy, though he was sure he'd love whoever fate chose to be his. Brook was content.

And then Brook lost his entire crew, and then he lost his own life.

When he'd finally located and regained his body, well, Brook was more bone than anything else. But he didn't mind too much, Being all bone meant Brook wasn't going to starve to death in the Florian Triangle. He still had his afro, so he knew Laboon would recognize him after he finally escaped. Brook was fine. And then he set a small fire on the deck to burn one of his beloved crew, as was part of the traditions. And from behind him, a shadow grew for the first time in his life - 'but he was dead! Skull joke!'

Spanning behind him was an infant's form, and as Brook dropped his violin in shock, he watched it shift and move about. He watched his shadow crawl about while attached to him, watched it play, and clap, watch it shake with silent giggles and grab at the ground. Brook found he couldn't look away as he watched them, his tiny soul-mate, a baby, but unmistakably alive. Brook squatted before his shadow and watched in complete awe. Because well, he'd been lying to himself for years. Brook had always said he was okay with it, okay with the fact that he had no shadow, but he hadn't been.

He wanted one.

And now… now he had one.

Gently Brook ran his bones across the shadow at his feet reveling in the fact that his little soul-mate existed. He spent the rest of the afternoon just watching them. Watching them crawl about, play and sleep, watching his shadow do everything they were doing. And then every day afterward he did the same. Life became habitual for him; every day Brook practiced with his violin, he played the last song of the Rumbar Pirates, he tried to bend at a deeper degree than he'd managed the day before, and he watched his soul-mate.

He watched when they took their first steps, stumbling into arms that he couldn't see but knew must belong to their parents. He watched them bounce soundless to a song he couldn't hear and played along trying to guess the beat that had so enthralled them. He observed the very odd movements that occurred when he supposed them to be about one and a few months. Then… watched when the natural actions shifted.

Concern grew within Brook when the playing, the dancing, the happiness faded from his small soul-mate. When his shadow looked like they were being struck, when they were sobbing curled up in a ball, and there were nothing he could do. Nothing but act out little shows for them when he could. Brook thought he grew excellent with shadow puppets and practiced all day long when his soul-mate was sleeping.

Five years he watched his little soul-mate grow. Five years he spent doing little shadow puppets to play with them, and eventually attempting to communicate. Finger-spelling and sign-language had always been very popular, especially for un-matched pairs. After all, you could sign your location to a soul-mate to find them and Brook had learned to finger-spell from his crew regardless that he hadn't had a shadow at the time. So when his soul-mate was around four, he started to spell to her. Brook knew most parents taught their children to sign early on, and if they didn't, most schools would instead. He assumed quickly that she didn't know how to do it for she had a habit of copying him and not saying anything new. Which was fine, he knew she'd pick it up eventually.

When she didn't, he thought, perhaps he'd guessed her age wrong or maybe the school she must have gone to would get to it later? When something knocked against the side of his ship.

Brook had a single comfort in the darkness of the Florian Triangle. Five years he spent in the dark watching the growing shadow of his small soul-mate. And then a ship found him.

And a monster ripped away his shadow as he _screamed._

* * *

Lily was the first one to see her daughter's shadow. Alone in the delivery room as James rushed off to yell at Remus, Sirius, and Peter about their brand new fawn. The nurse had brought Holly in cleaned and ready for her first feeding, which was when Lily saw it. Truthfully it was common to check for a shadow early, and Lily had the moment her daughter was free from her and she knew Holly was safe and hale, Lily noted the darkness under her and felt secure in the knowledge that Holly wouldn't suffer like the shadow-less. But until that first feeding, Lily hadn't seen the details of Holly's too large shadow.

Holly's shadow was abnormal, and that was being kind. For stretched out around her daughter was a motionless skeletal form. All bones and the oddest looking hair attached. Holly had a skeleton for a soul-mate, which was incredibly strange purely because for everyone else, when one half of a pair died, the other half would simply lose their shadow. No one had a rotting corpse attached to them, it didn't happen. So Holly having a skeleton meant to the ever logical Lily, that Holly had some manner of un-dead being as her mate… one with an afro. It wasn't impossible Lily reasoned, magic existed, so living skeletons could as well.

When James finally returned, she showed him Holly's shadow, which continued to lay there not doing a thing. And while he was concerned, they decided it was a problem for later because there was still a war on. And over the first few months of Holly's life, her shadow continued to do nothing.

Then one afternoon, while Lily was listening to the secure radio station a Muggleborn had set up to pass information. She heard Holly give a delighted giggle. At first, Lily thought it was because of the bubble charm she'd set up in Holly's play-pen. For Holly loved two things in the world, anything round - Lily blamed the skeletons head - and music. But when she looked over, Lily realized the truth, Holly's shadow was moving.

Lily stared in a mix of horror and relief as the skeletal figure attached to her daughter moved from the still lifeless form and was now squatted down. Lily sprung from her chair and rushed to cast the floating light charm. Carefully Lily positioned the light so Holly's shadow was lined up on the wall near them instead of flat on the ground. So Lily could see what the skeleton was doing while upright instead of flat on the ground. And Lily was ever so glad she did.

It squatted down and ran a boned hand across the ground - to its own shadow Lily realized - which meant it was so very gently observing Holly. Then she watched it clap it's boned hands together in delight and bounce a bit in place. And goodness, acting like that, Lily could almost say it was sort of… cute. Feeling far more confident in who her daughter was matched to - even if it was odd - Lily returned to her work as the skeletal figure entertained her daughter.

Which it continued to do up until the last moment Lily saw it stretched out behind Holly's crib as Voldemort bore down on her. As her life came to an end, a necessary sacrifice to keep Holly safe, Lily prayed to all the gods that no matter how strange it was, that skeleton would protect her little girl.

Truthfully, he would have if he'd been given the chance. But an entire world way, Brook could do nothing as the magical world exploded with rumors.

For Holly Lily Potter had saved the magical world yes. But no light witch had a soul-mate like that.

No matter what certain people said the rumors and tales exploded, and nothing could change the public's mind. Holly Potter had a skeleton for a soul-mate, and therefore she had to be a dark witch. Voldemort must have attacked her to get rid of a threat to his empire. Holly defeated him, so she was stronger and more dangerous than even Voldemort was. Her godfather killed a dozen people and was sent to Azkaban, of course, it was her godfather that did that.

She'd be the next Dark Lady.

They needed to deal with her before the threat grew. Before she was strong enough to defend herself.

Few believed differently; people like Dumbledore spoke again and again not to judge a child for her soul-mate. For even Voldemort had a regular looking soul-mate once upon a time. But for the first time, he went ignored. All Dumbledore could do to protect Holly, was to keep her location secret and protected. It was at his word that the Order remained alive and thriving even after Voldemort's defeat. As their members swore to be ready at a moment's notice to protect their too young savior if there was need. However, out of concern that their very presence would reveal her, the Order didn't make contact unless there was need. And as Holly grew, there never was.

So Holly was left with muggles terrified of her and the skeletal figure that stalked after her. Left with muggles in schools and public spaces which couldn't fathom the terrifyingly strange girl and the skeleton attached to her feet. To the point that her aunt and uncle were forced to keep her inside at all times. They could not allow people to see that thing. Petunia would just have to teach her what she needed, and they'd keep her in until it was dark out.

And then Holly turned five. The day was forever etched in her memory as the one where her fun-loving, playful skeleton changed. That day she watched as her shadow writhed under her, as it grabbed at itself and struggled against invisible restraints. Before abruptly, suddenly, going limp.

From that moment on, Holly's soul-mate stood limp behind her, doing no more than occasionally shifting and terrifying the people she met.


	2. Chapter 2

"She's fine my boy, she'll remain under her aunt's protection and then she will be safe at Hogwarts. There is no need to worry."

"It's just… Sirius keeps saying… but what if he's not lying… yes I know I cannot trust him… I understand Sir."

His shadow signed the truth, signing through the night, begging him to understand to respond, but how could he trust in it?

"Perhaps just for her birthday? Or Yule? A single gift? I… I saved up, it's nothing special but… oh…"

_'Drunk Wizard found screaming in Godric's Hollow. Claims he was trying to kill the Dark Lady.'_

"She's fine my boy, Andrews checked on the house just yesterday, there was no sign of any disturbance or danger."

_'Believe - trust - please - moon - wolf - mate - love - trust - traitor- rat- rat- rat-'_

"It's just, I found the picture of Lily and James and I know she'd love it- but… sir… please."

_'Muggle six-year-old dead after mistaken for the Potter child.'_

"She's fine my boy-"

_'Escape - find you - moon - please - child - rat - rat - rat-'_

"But there were poisoned letters, sir! If Severus hadn't been there when we went through them-"

His shadow was growing more and more haggard every day, thinner and thinner, and his wolf was screaming, it ripped into him every full moon because their mate needed them and it blamed him for going to him.

_'Please - believe - please - rat - mate - rat - mate.'_

"Holly is fine my boy-"

"So why can I not check on her myself!" Remus roared his eyes flashing liquid gold as he stared Dumbledore down. "I am part of the order, I am one of her god-parents! And yet I am the only one who has not been allowed to check on her, to see her! Tell me, WHY!" Dumbledore as ever was annoyingly calm as he stared Remus down as he raged at the injustice of it all. All Dumbledore did was continue to sit there with that annoying twinkling smile on his face, but the wolf saw more. The wolf within Remus saw the quickest flicker, a glance past Remus at his shadow stretched out behind him. The shadow that had stopped signing at him for the last few months. Remus' anger froze as something suspiciously like understanding grew within him.

"You'll never let me see her," Remus realized with the hair on his neck standing on end, "because of that." He gestured to his haggard shadow and Dumbledore's calm look twisted into pity.

"My boy-"

"NO!" he slammed his hands onto the desk, and his claws went straight through the wood. He'd visited too close to the moon, the wolf was at the very edge of his consciousness, and frankly, Remus was allowing it to be there. "You can not- you can't do this-"

"My boy…" Dumbledore removed his glasses a moment and rubbed his eyes, his body sagging with regret. "You must understand, Holly is in enough danger from the public as it is. She is constantly hunted. The people I trust to protect her are limited, and you… it is not fair, it is not right, but the fact remains that Sirius is your soul-mate. And he could have killed her as he did James and Lily. I can not put Holly in danger like that." He replaced his glasses and stared at Remus with those infernal glittering eyes, "perhaps, when she is older, we can speak of supervised visits. But for now Remus… I cannot tell you where she is. I'm truly sorry." 'Supervised?!' did he really just say- Remus was not guilty of any crime except for possessing a shadow of the wrong person, just like- just like Holly.

Remus' anger vanished, the gold dying from his eyes as the wolf fell back. In an instant, in a single second, they had come to an instant agreement. They understood what was said; but for as much loyalty that Remus held for Dumbledore, for as much as the wolf considered Dumbledore an alpha in place of James, the man was preventing them from seeing their pup; this man would stop them until she was older and under his protection, under his control. They did not accept that.

Remus feigned defeat, he bared his neck as he should to an alpha and closed off his body, but it was a lie. "I understand headmaster… I… I think I need some time alone."

"I truly am sorry my boy, truly I am. But it's only for a short time, you'll be able to see her before you know it." Under Dumbledore's protection, under Dumbledore's watchful eyes- unacceptable. Remus was godfather, father, pack; wolf was pack, wolf was getting their pup back-

Remus would meet and claim his pup, nothing would stop him.

So he left looking dejected, looking broken to the paintings, students, and to the other professors that saw him. A step out of Hogwarts, he apparated to his home- given to him by pack- and plotted. Remus grabbed a journal, a map, and sank into the armchair Lily gifted him the last Christmas she'd been alive. Sitting there hearing the rainfall Remus debated over what he had to do. He knew Holly was five years old, but he didn't know what she'd need at that age because he had no experience with children, he'd need to research it all. From health to schooling, to boundaries and so much else. Remus also knew children were expensive and he was very aware that he had no job, it was why he'd not pushed overly hard until then. Because Remus couldn't afford to care for her. Not to mention the most important problem, he had no one to watch her on full-moons.

He'd have to figure it out. Getting a job had to be easier now, he knew of online jobs and jobs that allowed a person to make their own hours in the muggle world. There had to be a way to do it. The rest he'd figure out on the way, perhaps a nanny for full-moons? The real trick would be getting her and keeping her. Her shadow was a massive tell to the muggle or magical world, if the wrong person saw it, it would doom them both.

There had to be a way, there had to be.

A knock came at his door, and Remus snarled at it, his wolf was far too close to the surface lately. His anger and the moon being so close was two big signs, but the stress of his lost pained mate, a lack of pack, and the awareness that he could not protect his pup were not helping.

Remus still found it so hard to believe Sirius had betrayed their pack, it was too out of character for him. Remus had doubted it when it first happened, but everyone else had been so sure. To the point that Remus had ignored what Sirius had been signing to him. That Pettigrew had done it, that Sirius had betrayed Remus by suspecting him and had swapped secret keepers behind his back. Truly he hadn't known what was worse, Sirius being a death eater and getting Lily and James killed, or Sirius betraying him despite the relationship they'd shared. Remus wasn't sure what he'd prefer, and so he avoided thinking about it and pretended the shadow at his back was that of a stranger.

Shoving the journal into hiding, Remus left his chair and strode toward the door. He suspected an order member come to check on him Dumbledore usually sent one after they'd spoken to 'check up on him.' So Remus acted up his defeated posture and hoped they'd leave soon. He had plans to build and didn't have time to waste on them. Though now that he was thinking about it, he'd be the very first person Dumbledore checked when Holly went missing. He'd have to leave his home when he claimed her. Reaching the door Remus opened it, and on instinct, he scented the air, and that scent entered his nose-

His wolf immediately howled in his head, it basked in joy as it instantly calmed for the first time in five years-

Padfoot, his mate, stood before him soaked to the bone, filth covered, starved and beaten; he stood carrying their tiny - too small, runt-sized - pup in his arms. With desperation in his eyes and a mix of defiance and wariness in his posture, Sirius spoke.

"Remus, Moony. Please, let me explain."

* * *

Sirius heard the whispers; that was the benefit of canine ears. He saw the people who came in recently arrested, and he heard of their crimes. The very first one that came in after he had been thrown into Azkaban changed everything for him. Until that moment Sirius believed he deserved what he'd gotten. For doubting his mate, for keeping secrets, for being the reason James and Lily were dead- for trusting the wrong man, the man that wasn't his mate- and then he'd heard that man speak about his crimes.

The man bragged to them all that he'd almost killed the Dark Lady. That he'd hunted down the child that killed the dark lord. The one who would grow up to be worse than even Voldemort- the kid with the skeleton shadow- his pup.

The public thought his pup was a Dark Lady, people- average people, were actively attempting to hunt and kill her.

Sirius could not allow anyone to accomplish that.

Nightly he signed to Remus confessing the real truth and begging him to understand. But Sirius' own shadow never responded, it and by extension Remus ignored him. Sirius knew then that Remus must blame him for it all and he thought he should just leave Remus alone. And he did, until another person came him, another person spoke of their crimes and Sirius knew he had no other choice. If Remus wouldn't listen to his signs, then Sirius would need to protect their pup without him.

Escape attempts were performed weekly, but something always seemed to go wrong. Sirius' magic refused to work, a dementor would show up at the wrong time or aurors would be there en masse. He couldn't use magic to escape, the small amount of wandless magic he knew was useless around the dementors. And the locks could not be picked, even when he managed to steal a pin to try lock-picking with. So time passed, more were arrested and bragged, one that they'd done it that stopped his heart for a week. Sirius starved, ignored by his mate as he signed and Remus refused to respond; as people continued to come in screaming about their innocence and their intense desire to kill his pup.

Five years, five years he suffered in Azkaban with one single goal; escape and save Holly. Before Sirius discovered his canine form was small enough, haggard and broken enough to slip through the bars. Unfortunately, that was the easy part. As Sirius was forced to swim the freezing ocean to reach land again. Truthfully, he almost drowned a dozen times his body shutting down from the cold and the hunger. But a god had to be looking out for him, or perhaps it had been the skeletal figure that belonged to his pup, for he managed to survive.

After that, he walked. He didn't stop, didn't eat, didn't sleep, he just walked and walked. Sirius knew from what was said and from he could guess that his pup was not with the order, not with Remus, or with Alice, or with anyone Lily and James set her up to be with. Which meant there was only one other place she could be. With Petunia.

Sirius wasn't sure of the time, wasn't sure how long it took to reach Privet Drive. He hadn't been entirely conscious as he walked for most of the trip. Consciousness only really returned when Sirius limped into Petunia's drive-way; distantly realizing he'd bloodied up a paw during the trip and he didn't remember when or how. He'd been there once before, with James. James had been trying to apologize for his actions toward Vernon during the wedding, trying to repair the fragile link between Lily and Petunia. Unfortunately, it had already snapped, and their visit had only aided in Sirius locating the house later.

Sirius circled the building scenting for his pup as the sun fell. He peered inside the windows from the bushes, but he never saw his pup. Truthfully he wouldn't have believed she existed there, if not for the scent lingering all over the garden. So Sirius waited- and perhaps slept for a while- there was a blank space in his memory between the time when night fell and the back door slid open.

For the quickest moment, Sirius saw it. Holly stood in the doorway with the light behind her, and her shadow stretched out across the lawn. The skeletal figure was in full detail, its bones stretching in and out with breath, it's arms limp at its sides, and it's head lolled. Its figure stood at her feet, unmoving as it had been when she'd been a newborn- and Sirius snapped back to attention as Holly closed the back-door behind her and entered the backyard. Sirius was then torn between observing his pup and wondering about her skeleton. Because he'd known her as a baby, and he'd known the skeletal figure too. Never had he seen it so still.

_"Look he's playing with her again Prongs."_

_"Boney? Oh yeah, he does that all the time. He opened his head a little while ago in play, Holly, my creepy like Fawn, absolutely adored it." James laughed, he had adjusted to seeing the skeletal figure attached to his daughter. He'd also fondly nicknamed it Boney figuring one day it would be family and no doubt it would need a proper marauder name just like his Fawn would: "I've never seen Lily scream so loudly. It was great! He'll fit right in with the family!" Sirius and James were already plotting the sheer amount of pranks they could play on people with a Skeleton in-law._

Sirius focused back on Holly, on his pup and pushed that back as a problem for later. Because his pup was not healthy; she was too small, much too small. She looked more like him, like a prisoner of Azkaban than a child. She was pale as ice, looking as though she'd never seen the sun and her eyes were sunken in with huge bags under them. Her little arms were bruised with handprints that had him growling in a fury.

Sirius knew the signs of abuse. He'd gone to a counselor when he'd been younger at the urging of Fleamont and Euphemia Potter when they'd taken him in. Sirius realized then what he'd suffered from his mother and family had been abuse, and he'd asked the woman what signs she saw in him and what other signs existed. He knew what they were, and Holly was covered in them before he'd even truly approached her.

The choice was natural, without a plan or without conscious thought, Sirius had stood and strode forward. He slipped forms and crouched in the grass before her wide awed eyes.

It didn't matter that he hadn't eaten in days or that he was a wanted prisoner. It didn't matter that Sirius had no wand, no hope, and no experience at all in child rearing. All that Sirius cared about was that his pup was in danger publicly and at home just because her shadow was a bit odd. None of that mattered, all that mattered was keeping Holly safe and happy, and he'd do anything to ensure it.

"Hello pup." He rasped out, "my name is Sirius… and I'm your godfather."

Sirius was relieved but despaired over how easy it was to convince Holly to come with him, a perfect stranger. She agreed to go with him without even knowing him; to her anything was better than her aunt and uncle. She stepped into his arms as if she'd been built to fit right there. Or more accurately, as if she'd fit before when they'd both been healthy, and now they'd both suffered too much and still seemed to fit. Sirius held her close even as his body cried out in exhaustion, pain, and building starvation that was going to push him into unconsciousness the moment he stopped for more than a moment.

He cradled Holly to his chest and felt a rush of panic; what would he do with her now?! He glanced around standing in the darkness of Number fours garden holding his goddaughter. Where could he go? Then his shadow shifted, barely visible in the darkness, and he knew he'd have to chance it, Sirius had no other options. He just had to pray Remus listened to him in person when he hadn't in sign.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: this chapter has some swapping between different points of time. If that bothers anyone too much give me a shout and I'll try to add a 'before/after' after the breaks.**

* * *

The world was spinning around Sirius, but he dared not collapse with his goddaughter in his arms. He wanted nothing more than to collapse and sleep for a year, he wanted to eat, to be warm for the first time in years. He wanted to put Holly down because as small as she was, she was too heavy for his arms. His screaming arms that couldn't handle even his own weight, let alone hers. But he couldn't, he couldn't put her down, couldn't stop until she was safe-

The door to Remus' home opened, and Sirius saw for a moment another time, pictured himself leaning against Remus' doorway with a roguish grin. The bike was behind him, and as soon as Remus answered the door, they'd be heading out to crash a few parties. They were graduated now, and Sirius couldn't wait to explore the world with his mate. Parties and muggle cities for him, and forests and lakes for Remus. They'd run on two legs, two wheels, and four paws adventuring and just living out their lives-

Warm light hit his face, and Sirius stared at the face of his mate as it blended with the past; healthy, unhealthy, aged, youthful, scars, new scars, and an expression of pure distrust-

Sirius snapped back into focus as he re-gripped Holly and refocused on the now and the limp weight to his goddaughter's body.

"Remus, Moony. Please, let me explain."

Remus didn't waste a moment after he realized what he was seeing on his doorstep. He snatched a hold of Sirius' prison garb, his clawed nails catching at the fabric and ripping it - not that anyone would notice the new tares considering the state of the cloth - and he wrenched Sirius and Holly inside before he slammed the door closed and triple locked it.

"Are you insane!?" Remus demanded shutting off the porch light in the hopes that no one would visit. "I'm the first person they'll suspect when they realize you've escaped and she's gone."

Under their feet, Sirius' shadow and Remus' blended and swapped as it always did when they were directly together. While water dripped from Sirius' drenched body and hair causing Remus to flick his wand to dry his mate and goddaughter with a brief spell. As he did, he watched as Sirius staggered as if the rather simple magic had been a punch to the gut. "Are you alright? Is she?" he peered at the small body tucked into Sirius' chest, she hadn't stirred despite his raised voice.

Sirius shook his head to clear the fog encroaching on his mind: "she… no, she's…" he had to say something, tell Remus something, something important- Holly gave a rattling breath: "no! It's wrong, Moony, Holly's sick! She fell asleep and… and I tried to wake her, but she won't wake up. Somethings wrong."

"Bloody- give her to me." Remus reached forward and firmly removed Holly from his mate's arm. Not that he didn't trust Sirius to hold her, he was distantly growing to the realization of Sirius' innocence, but his instincts were also screaming at him to take her. He needed her close, warm, healthy, safe, and she was currently none of that.

Remus pushed passed Sirius to the couch where he lowered Holly. His hand pressed against the back of her forehead, and Remus pinched his lips together. She was hot, much hotter than she should be; Sirius was correct she was sick, and he knew nothing about healing. With such a fever he'd prefer to immediately take her to a hospital, however Remus was practical enough to realize how stupid that would be. Considering he'd technically stolen a child and was currently in the company of a prison escapee.

He had a few books that might help, but testing spells on his ill goddaughter was not something he preferred to do. It would be better to recruit experienced help. But the only person who he knew could assist would might not keep his mouth shut to the one person Remus wanted to keep this a secret from. No, he needed to figure this out himself, he'd try the book and test the spells on Sirius-

"She can't go back Remus-… don't take her back." He shot a look beside him to find Sirius standing there eyes unfocused. Sirius' hand was grasping at the air as if he were trying to touch Remus, but couldn't find him, or was unsure he'd be allowed. Considering their past, Remus wasn't sure if he'd accept that touch either. "She can't go back there," Sirius insisted, "they did this, they hurt her… abused… she's been- but… don't…"

Sirius' needs gave out, he collapsed as Remus made a flying leap toward him before his head smashed into the coffee table. He ended up cracking his own back into the table instead which had his entire lower back crying out, he'd most certainly be feeling that for a while he knew, but Sirius hadn't ended up with a concussion.

Swearing under his breath Remus sat up: "Sirius are you…" he trailed off. Sirius was gasping for breath, his eyes fluttering, and now that Remus was actually touching him he realized that Sirius was far warmer that Holly had been. "Sirius!" he gasped reaching for his mate's forehead- that temperature was-

A knock sounded at the door.

Remus' pupils constricted as a growl vibrated in his neck.

If that was the Order-

He shot a look at the couch as Holly whimpered in her sleep, then to Sirius who's pleads continued to echo in his ears.

He'd protect them, even if he had to bloody his hands, even if he was put down like the animal the world thought he was.

* * *

Holly's eyes fluttered open as a distant voice drew her consciousness. With a wide yawn, Holly lifted herself from the pillow fortress that had become the bed she was laying on. There were more pillows around her than she'd ever seen in her life; almost as if the owner of the bed she was staying in had collected every single pillow they could find to create a proper den for her.

She was somewhere new, that was her first thought as she glanced lazily around the room. It wasn't her cupboard or any of the rooms of Privet Drive. Holly was somewhere she'd never been before, a place that wasn't the building she'd never left. Holly was outside Privet Drive!

Butterflies fluttering in her chest Holly hurled the blankets off herself and took in a much more focused look to her environment. It was a simplistic room but to Holly who had only ever seen Privet Drive thought it was highly interesting. As she took in the simple furniture and the window- the window! Holly scrambled over the pillows and yanked aside the curtain to look outside discovering the rising sun tinting the skies a beautiful red, yellow, and blue.

"Oh." She breathed a sigh.

Before her was a road with trees, real ones, not the ones from the TV and Dudley's picture books. There were houses, colorful, crooked, and full of character instead of the copy and pasted versions of Privet Drive. She really, truly, was somewhere brand new. Her godfather hadn't lied to her, he'd taken her from the Dursley's and into the world.

Covering her mouth, Holly stifled a thrilled giggle. Her godfather would show her the world like he'd promised. She'd get to see real forests, snow-capped mountains, cities and their people, and the ocean. Water that stretched out far beyond the eye could see, where strange lands and even more bizarre creatures lay.

"He didn't lie." She told her shadow while beaming, but it continued to remain still, and her smile faded a bit.

Then the door to the room she was in opened and a man entered. Holly sucked in a sharp breath and swiftly shut the curtains before she could get in trouble for allowing the light to hit her. However, as she rushed through this, the man who entered froze. He hadn't expected her to be awake any more than Holly had expected someone to come in. He got his observations about Holly over in an instant, watching intensely how she reacted to his sudden appearance, then watching how she responded to him after she finished setting what she'd disturbed right.

Holly immediately liked the stranger in her room purely because he was different and she rather liked things like that. It could be because her shadow was a skeleton with a giant circular head or because she'd been forced to remain indoors for so long that she was thrilled at anything new, but she liked him. The man had slicked black hair, black eyes, and black clothing with a large hooked nose. He had a neutral expression, not furious like her uncle, displeased like her aunt, or even happy like her godfather. Because he waited for her to settle, Holly felt herself at ease, even if it would have horrified her godfather later.

"Good morning Miss Potter." The man spoke softly, smoothly, but he didn't move and instead asked: "May I approach?"

Slowly Holly nodded, having never been asked that question before and once she had the man strode forward. His cloak moved around him like there was wind in the room even though there wasn't. And he didn't get too close to her, he took a seat beside the bed as he calmly asked.

"How are you feeling?"

"Feeling?" she echoed uncertainly.

* * *

Remus through the door to his home open and bared his teeth at the intruder. The handle now had permanent and prominent grooves in the metal from his claws, but Remus didn't currently care. He knew he couldn't stay in his home any longer anyway, and Remus knew he'd have to take Holly and Sirius and run as soon as he could. He also had remembered someone from the Order would be visiting him tonight after the scene he'd made before Dumbledore. But he hadn't expected that visit to come at such a terrible time.

Or so he'd thought; until he'd opened the door.

"Severus." Remus rumbled out a greeting. Severus Snape was not a common choice to check on him. Ordinarily, it was a Weasley or Merlin forbid Doge. The Weasley's always insisted on having drinks and getting in his head, while Doge would go on and on about how great the spectacular Albus Dumbledore was. Severus in the meantime would show up, check to see if he was breathing, then he'd leave. Which was perfect for Remus to hide things, because Severus wouldn't care as long as he was alive. But on top of that, Severus was the only member in the Order that knew healing magic now that Alice-

"Severus," Remus said again in a completely different tone.

Severus sneered: "you're not dead then." He immediately turned to leave- when Remus surged forward and snatched hold of his arm, claws digging in, and he yanked him into the house. "What the hell Lupin-" Severus cut off as he saw the two forms in the living room.

As Remus loomed over him and snarled: "Fix them." Was his simple order.

—

"Yes Miss Potter, how are you feeling?"

Holly cocked her head and glanced down at herself; her bruises were gone, the pain in her stomach had faded, and the cuts along her fingers had healed up. So how did she feel? She felt- she felt…

"Hungry sir."

The man's eyes glittered as he drawled out: "Quite. That is fortuitous news, you are recovering well." Holly who understood one word in five of what he was saying furrows her brows until he said a sentence she did understand. "I shall bring you something to eat."

Holly shook her head as her eyes fluttered, food? He was just going to bring her food? Just like that? Didn't she have to work for it- or was this a test-

The man was leaving.

"Sir!" she called crawling after him a bit. He stopped then and glanced back one brow perfectly arched in question. Holly meant to ask what she'd have to do for her food, meant to ask a whole lot of different questions. But instead what came out of her mouth first was: "who are you?" in an awed tone.

"It's proper to introduce yourself, Miss Potter."

"Oh!" she rushed to bow in her bed, "I'm Holly Potter, nice to meet you." She copied what Petunia had told Dudley to do and hoped it would work for her too.

"Severus Snape, it's a pleasure." He left the room without another word, the door clicked closed silently behind him, and Holly was left alone once more.

Leaning on her knees, Holly scrunched her nose and glanced around the room again. She couldn't clean it because it was already clean, so that wasn't what she was supposed to do. Nor could Holly leave because she wasn't allowed when the sun was in the sky. All tasks she knew had to be finished in the night-time so no one could see her skeleton.

So what was she supposed to do? She couldn't sleep, she'd already done that during the night-time. Maybe she could ask her godfather? Surely he'd have an idea of what she had to- she didn't know where she could find him. She hadn't seen him since she'd fallen asleep in his arms as he'd told her they were going to visit his friend, who must be Mister Snape.

She'd have to find him, surely he wouldn't mind her walking in the light? He gave her a real hug like Petunia had Dudley. He loved her, so he must like her skeleton too.

Holly decided she'd go find him and swung her body off the mattress, she landed softly, though she knocked a few of the many pillows off the bed. Holly swiftly swooped down and returned them to the bed exactly where she'd found them. She didn't attempt to make the bed, mostly because that was one of the few tasks she wasn't required to do in the night.

Then she crept toward the door and slipped into the hallway.

* * *

"What happened?!" Severus demanded of Remus as he knelt beside Holly as he temporarily ignored the unconscious menace on the floor beside her. His wand was already in hand as he cast a spell over her. Her color alarmed him desperately, but the gasping rattling breath was worse. He smothered his desire to kick away Black as he twisted magic to discover what was wrong. But he couldn't hold his tongue in the same way: "

"you let this man near her? With what he's done- Lupin how foolish are you!"

"Sirius is innocent." Remus told him firmly as he lifted Sirius from the floor and leaned him against the couch beside Severus, "he's been trying to tell me that for years, but I ignored him."

"How can you be so certain?"

"Because he brought Holly to me, the first thing he did when he escaped was to go get her and then he came to me. A person who wanted her dead wouldn't do that Severus." Remus brushed Sirius too long hair from his face allowing his fingers to linger in want for a moment. He told Severus the truth, but the truth didn't change the fact that something was broken between him and his mate. And only time and safety would tell if they could repair it.

"How do you know he didn't do this to her?" Severus demanded.

"Don't insult either of our intelligence Severus. The damage is long term, you can tell that just by looking at her." Remus shook her head, "you and I both suspected the truth long ago, we should have known Petunia would not love Holly, let alone care for her. She's not capable of kindness, never has been." Severus didn't answer him, which was answer enough for Remus. Severus knew it and he'd continuously worried about it just as Remus had. But Dumbledore had always assured them that Holly was loved and treated like a queen. But this was the truth, she had been abused. Holly had been suffering for years, and they'd done nothing to stop it.

Severus cut off the spell as he snatched a parchment from the tip of his wand and scanned it. Remus was correct, the damage was long term and would require years to repair. From what he was reading, it was only by a god's divine intervention that Holly Potter was not already dead. Perhaps it was the same god that set Severus to Remus that very night instead of another.

He slid his eyes to Black mentally calculating, the man had escaped from Azkaban, and it must have been recently as no one knew he'd done it yet. Which meant his childhood tormentor had somehow escaped, made it to Holly, rescued her, then made it to Lupin before collapsing in a manner of days, without being discovered by a single soul. Grudgingly Severus found in impressive and wondered intensely how the man had done it. He well knew how far his own body could travel with mild dementor exposure and cruciatus damage, and it was not nearly as far.

"I need my potions… for both of them." He looked up at Lupin who hadn't stopped looming over him since he'd entered the building. He'd need potions to ensure Holly recovered and Black didn't die that very night. The question was, would Lupin allow him to leave?

Remus grit his teeth, grinding them together and making the sound audible in the room. He knew the risks and benefits of releasing Severus. He also knew he had to if he wanted Holly and Sirius to get better. He'd have to trust Severus.

"Go. But Circe help you if you betray me Severus. Nothing will stop me from hunting you down and ripping out your throat." Remus growled his wolf completely taking over for a moment. Severus ignored it, ignored it because Holly and Black needed medical attention immediately.

"I will return within the hour." He stated and apparated right on the spot, he didn't bother to leave the building, which was respectful. Severus landed outside the gates of Hogwarts and sprinted through them the moment the wards had acknowledged his magical signature. His cloak billowed out as he raced toward the school, through the doors, and toward his rooms.

In the dungeons he went straight for his personal store of potions, many were experimental and tested on himself during the war. He'd revolutionized the potions used for healing, and no one had a clue he'd done so. Nor did the Order realize the person who'd supplied them with life saving and highly effective potions during the last year of the war had been him. The same potions were now placed under powerful status charms ready for when the war returned to life, as he knew it would due to the mark ever present on his arm.

Severus snatched what he needed from the shelves then grabbed extra just in case, all the vials went into his bottomless pockets in precisely the correct locations. Severus had been a spy, he knew what it was like to be bleeding out on the floors and yet unable to find the potion needed to save himself. Clumsy organization was not something he accepted from anyone. He wanted and needed to be able to find any potion without being able to see, hear, or move too far to grab it.

With the vials where he needed them and where he knew where to find them, Severus went for his door, hurled it open and froze. Before him stood Dumbledore with his hand raised to knock and his ever twinkling eyes dead to the world.

His first thought was to blank out his expression and throw his occlumency shields up. Severus as a principle did not trust anyone, not even the man he'd gone to out of desperation to protect Lily. Why should he when the man had demanded a price for that protection, demanded an oath that directly bound Severus to an infant in the direct path of the Dark Lord.

Severus had done it, to protect Lily and her child - glasses wearing men non-withstanding - but he was ever aware that if Holly Potter died, he would be quick to follow. Which meant every assurance that she was safe that this man had given him was a lie. Every word spoken that Holly had been safe, happy, and healthy, was a lie said to Severus whose very life could have ended without warning thanks to her ignored mistreatment.

There had been a reason Severus had requested the permission to take her in after Remus had been denied following the near-deadly 'gift' incident.

Severus' second thought to Dumbledore's appearance was that the man knew. That he was aware Black and Holly were present in Lupin's house, and the result of that would be explosive.

"Severus," Dumbledore greeted gravely, "we have a problem."

His stomach sunk as he shifted his stance to make it appear as though he had not been sprinting through the castle. He kept his expression utterly neutral, throwing disdain toward the man as was average.

He'd been a spy between two, but his loyalty had not been with either of them. His dedication had been to a woman with red hair and stolen by her daughter. A daughter who needed him, who was being hunted by now both of his so-called masters. One who wished her dead. The other who was blinded and clueless about how dark humanity could be to their so-called family.

"Indeed?" he drawled. Dumbledore would be the better individual to discover her if only because he wouldn't immediately torture and murder the girl. But kindness, unfortunately, could sometimes kill just as quickly and should Dumbledore attempt to return her to her so-called family, then-

"Sirius Black has escaped Azkaban."

Ah, so it was that. Severus had known it would only be a matter of time before Black's escape was caught, he'd hope to have more time however. Lupin and he both knew the truth, after Black's escape was discovered then Holly would be the first person Dumbledore and the Order would check on. Following that, they would focus immediately on Lupin.

Regardless Severus plastered a sneer on his face - easy to do considering the subject - and played his part. Outrage and protective snapping were his masks to ease Dumbledore's mind that he was clueless. As Severus soothed the man's concerns that Remus knew nothing and had been alone but injured when he'd visited. He scoffed claiming Lupin was a weak minded fool, that his pathetic grief had been that bad and now Severus had to take time out of his night to fix what he'd done.

As if Severus didn't understand that grief.

As if he hadn't attempted the same at one point before Lily caught him.

"Yes, of course, my boy, go help him… however, do not tell him about Sirius." Dumbledore gave a pensive look to the side, "that poor boy is too… delicate for this, should he learn the truth... it is possible Remus could be driven to act against Holly's best interests, for the good of his soulmate."

"Of course." He inclined his head and went to leave. Dumbledore worried Lupin was as much a traitor as Black was, or could be turned by Black to betray his pack. The man was of the mind that soulmates trumped everything else, and considering the figure that stalked behind the man, he ought to know that wasn't true.

Severus' own shadow stretched out behind him with the flickering candles. Severus knew better than that.

* * *

Holly felt something brush against her senses and paused in the hallway. She glanced around but clueless to what it meant or why it happened she dismissed it. Nearby on his way up the stairs with a plate full of food appropriate for a recovering child Severus Snape froze sensing the same; he unlike Holly recognized the wards he'd placed on Remus' home giving them warning of a visitor. Swiftly Severus set aside the food and rushed for Holly's room, only to discover she was gone.

Holly meanwhile glanced into a room and found it full of papers, they were everywhere. That was something she could clean she knew, but Holly wanted to see her godfather first. Still, she memorized the location for later use- when a hand clamped around her mouth. Holly internally shrieked as she was plucked off the ground and… hugged to a chest?

"Quiet." Cautioned the voice of Mister Snape as he covered her with his cloak and soundlessly closed the door she'd opened. Holly went to apologize for wandering, she'd known better than to do that and knew she'd be in for a whopping now, but she hoped Mister Snape would tell her where her godfather was after he did it. But with his hand over her mouth, she couldn't ask so instead she thought about the new and very different, and second ever, hug she was getting.

Mister Snape did not hug like her godfather did. Her godfather had been thin, wet, and cold and he'd shaken when he held her. But Mister Snape was warm, and yet oddly firm.

She wasn't sure which she preferred.

Mister Snape glanced around a bit before settling and walking them to a room, he opened the door with a whisper and closed it soundlessly behind him. He was very quiet, and Holly thought maybe there was an important reason for that like her aunt had come to take her back. Holly didn't want to go back, so she decided to keep as quiet as possible as Mister Snape took her from his cloak. Freed, she got the first look of the room she was in, and of the figure on the bed.

Her godfather was writhing in the bed, drenched in sweat. Someone had changed his striped clothes, but they'd forgotten his shirt. His hair was plastered to his head, and he was mumbling nonsense under his breath. Seeing this Holly shot Mister Snape a panicked look as the man set her on the ground and strode quickly forward to check on her godfather. Holly watched as Mister Snape put the back of his hand against her godfathers, then mumble something rude and definitely not allowed around her aunt under his breath before he backed off.

"Holly," she snapped to attention, focusing on him, "stay here, don't make a sound. If someone comes in I want you to hide, do not come out unless it's me. Do you understand?" a thump sounded from the floor below and they both glanced down quickly.

These rules she knew well, quiet because a guest was present, and Mister Snape must not want them to see her skeleton, which was why she couldn't be seen. Come out only when he came back was a bit different, but she took it to meant the guest might try to come in, and she was not to let them see her. She could do that, she'd done it before.

"Yes sir." She whispered.

Mister Snape nodded sharply and strode out of the room soundlessly. With a swirl of robes, she was left behind with her godfather who continued to speak nonsense and twist in his bed. Glancing down, she heard a strangers voice from below and felt her hands shake. Raised voices, she couldn't stand raised voices, it was why she liked Mister Snape who hadn't spoken loudly.

Nervously, as the volume went up below her, Holly rushed for her godfather. Her hands landed on the top of the tall bed, and she scrambled up onto it. With her godfather laying like an oven behind her, Holly scooted until her back was to him and plastered her eyes were on the door.

Stay quiet, stay hidden, don't come out until Mister Snape came back. Simple rules.

"J-James… so sorry… James… Remus, please- please- the rat-"

_"HOW DARE YOU!"_

She threw herself under the blanket and her godfather's arm and whimpered as his arm curled automatically around her and fogged awareness returned to him as his eyes snapped open.

* * *

Severus strode down the stairs to find Remus barricading the door with his body as he snarled at Dumbledore. That very night was the full moon, and it was one of the reasons Severus was still in Remus Lupin's home beyond caring for Black and Holly. One of which who was making an excellent recovery, the other though…

"Sir." Severus drawled to get Remus' attention off the man. Lupin was not a spy and not in control of himself, this was his home and his pack. Severus could sooth Dumbledore's mind, Lupin could not. He was unaware that by placing himself behind Lupin and by Lupin allowing him to remain there with the perceived 'enemy' in front, that Lupin and his wolf had already begun to consider Severus pack, and had since the gift incident.

"Severus." Dumbledore focused on him and dared to step forward into a werewolf's territory when he wasn't welcomed. The stupidity was enough to make him roll his eyes until Dumbledore spoke his next sentence. "She is here, I know she is."

The expletive that crossed his mind was most certainly not for the no doubt listening ears. If Holly was anything like her parents, she would have her ear on the thin floors and would be listening in. If Petunia hadn't destroyed all her self preservation that was.

"She who?" he drawled, trying to recover while he thought of a backup plan. Lupin was useless this close to the moon; unless this came to a duel. Ideally, he could convince the man that Black was innocent - how had his life come to this - and that he, Black, and Lupin would be 'functional' caregivers for Holly. Perhaps not together, but they didn't need to be all the time. Severus could take her on the full moons; Black and Lupin while he was working. They could make it work, or at least he and Lupin could. Regardless they would be a hundred times better than Petunia Dursley. He just needed to prove that to Dumbledore, the man was rational enough-

"Severus, Remus." Disappointment was in Dumbledore's posture, tone, and eyes. Perhaps he was disappointed in the fact that they couldn't trust him with this information, that they hadn't said a word. That Severus had lied to his face about Sirius and Holly being within Remus' care. Perhaps he was disappointed because he was utterly convinced these two men, a werewolf tied to a murderer, and a former death eater, could no longer be trusted.

It certainly looked bad to outside eyes.

"Holly is in grievous danger, we must return her to her family. I would have you release her to me, safely. Please Remus, Severus, embrace the kindness within you. Do not hurt her."

Severus knew that instant that Remus was going to snap. He braced himself as his grip tightened on the wand that had not left his hand since the moment he'd sensed the wards go off.

This was going to dissolve into a fight.

"HOW DARE YOU!" Remus roared as he grabbed for Dumbledore's neck. The man who was considered the strongest in the world outside the Dark Lord moved to defend himself. Dumbledore did not even bother using a wand as a shield formed between himself and Lupin's claws causing sparks to fly off and Lupin to cry out as his fingers were severely burned.

Severus shielded himself from both men wondering how quickly he could collect Holly and run. With Lupin distracted and Black comatose, it would be simple, the only real problem was Dumbledore who would resist it, who would chase him till the ends of the earth. He could turn to the muggle world, Dumbledore was worse there than anywhere else.

A thump sounded behind them as Remus attacked the shield again too lost to try anything but furiously beat against the magical wall between him and his target. Only Severus turned toward it instantly thinking it was Holly come to discover what was being yelled about. And he found himself staring at a dazed Sirius Black with Holly in his arms, and her head burrowed in his neck.

Sirius was not coherent when he woke up. His mind was burning with fever, and he was convinced he was somewhere else. Sirius was in battle with James, he was sick with his brother, he was running from his mother's curses, he was in danger- danger- danger. He had to protect- James, Regulus, himself, Holly… Holly was scared, she was too small, too hurt, she needed to be protected from- from- Holly was crying, she was scared. His kid needed him, he needed to run- to get her away from- he wouldn't let anyone take her- no one would hurt her again-

His magic rushed to his hands as he bared his teeth at the blurred figures before him. He had no wand, but that wouldn't stop him. He didn't need a wand to kill someone-

"Sirius! Calm down!"

"Fools, do not yell you are frightening-"

"My boy-"

"Don't you dare-"

Sirius staggered holding Holly close and raising his hand- spell, he needed to protect-

"Sirius-" Remus was afraid- he had to protect-

"Black-" corrupted, Black, enemy, how could they? He had to run- Potter's- where… James-

"My boy-" liar- enemy- cannot trust- betrayer. Defend- magic- cast- Holly-

Holly whimpered as magic built around them. As Severus grabbed Remus yanking him behind a frantically cast shield; as Dumbledore went to cast something at Sirius, to steal back Holly no doubt; as Sirius went to attack, to defend, to protect- and as Holly's terrified wish magic spawned to life.

Magic clashed between them all and Holly's skeletal shadow lifted its head, and its form exploded around them all.


	4. Chapter 4

Brook's eye sockets strayed, and he couldn't stop himself from doing it.

He'd woken on his ship, miraculously returning to consciousness and his body, before it had been cast astray. Confusion had been the plaguing emotion as he sat up in the coffin made of his beloved crew, as he stepped from their bones like something out of a horror story. As he staggered to his feet and ventured out wondering if the pain and that monstrous laughing figure had been nothing but a dream. But how could it be? How could Brook have imagined the too young shadow of his soulmate twisting and struggling in Gekko Moria's grip? How could he have imagined the soundless scream that shook through his shadow as they were sliced from his body?

Throughout his previous five years at sea Brook had kept a continually burning flame on the deck of the ship. A glow that had him continually attempting to fish up wood and other objects in the hopes he could burn them and never lose the pure light. Often he'd sacrificed pieces of the broken ship that would never sail again just to keep the flame lit. All because in the Florian Triangle, no light could penetrate the thick clouds; and to see your shadow, one needed artificial light of some shot like a burning candle.

After the nightmare that had plagued him and the weakness dragging on his bones, Brook feared the worst as he exited the cabin and ventured toward the fire. The fire that had died burning to its bones.

"Skull joke! Yohoho" Brook laughed, forcing it through his teeth as if the joke would make all this better.

With a smile, Brook stepped toward the fire-place, trying to ignore the fact that his ship was still moored at the moving island. That the docks were right there. That the location he'd ventured to before waking was present before his very eye-sockets. He told himself foolishly that it wasn't real and that he hadn't lost the one thing-

Kneeling Brook quickly, with practiced fingers, lit a small fire, as it kicked to life under his hands and cast shadows around him. The light danced along his figure, but nothing stretched out behind him.

They were gone.

His shadow was gone.

Focus faded after that, as he furiously screamed and blindly leaped toward the island and battle. As he spent what had to be weeks looking for it, as he sliced random zombies to pieces and discovered the secret of salt. But no matter how many shadows he freed, none were his.

Brook discovered that like regular people, the zombie's shadows did not match them. It seemed, against all the odds, that shadows retained their form no matter who wore them. A lion zombie held the shadow of a young woman, a unicorn possessed one of a gruff looking man. And Ryuma, the samurai, the swordsman, possessed the shadow of a too-small five-year-old child.

The moment he caught sight of Ryuma he'd known, his eyes strayed to the zombies' feet and at the tiny form shaking on across the ground and growled. He watched her distantly wondering if their shadow still matched him and his actions, or if their shadow now matched a stranger. He knew which would be worse. But Brook was unable to truly accept the horror of both his shadow and his soulmate permanently stolen from him and given to this… this… corpse!

No, he was not a hypocrite! He was a skeleton, that was completely different!

He watched Ryuma as a rare showing of the sun filtered across the island to reveal his shadow, Brook's shadow, as if the fates themselves were screaming 'here she is, come get her!' They were five years old, still a child, but soon they'd understand, soon they'd learn to sign and would try to communicate. But when they did, it would not be him that would be able to read the secrets they gave away. But a stranger, an enemy, a demon.

What would Ryuma do with that information? Brook's helpless soulmate, the child, trusting in her other half to care for her, to protect her. She could speak of anything, and Brook couldn't respond, to warn her, to find her.

Brook gritted his teeth and took hold of his sword. He watched the light flicker behind the clouds as his stolen soulmate curled up with their hands over their head in apparent fear. He charged without thought. It was reckless, stupid even, to leave the tree line while the sun could catch and destroy him.

Metal crashed together as Brook discovered how madly out-matched he was. Brook, however, did not stop. Outclassed he might be, but Brook had no one to turn to, no one but himself to call on, to reclaim what was his. Ryuma barely moved as Brook frantically twisted around and blindly thrust at the corpse. Had Brook carried muscles and lungs, they would have been screaming. And while he was lighter, a better match for his sword style, his attacks carried no weight at all and against Ryuma… he didn't stand a chance.

Then it happened, Ryuma's sword sliced past Brook's guard and sliced dangerously close to his afro. His only recognizable feature, the only way to tell that Brook had once been human, that he'd once been Brook and not a creaking undead monster. The only way Laboon could recognize him, the only way his soulmate would know him from the countless dead that existed - disregarding the fact that he could move, unlike every other skeleton.

Brook twisted, putting the rest of his body at risk to protect his hair, he warped his body at an extreme degree as sun escaped the clouds once more to strike Ryuma from the back. And Brook's foot slid across Ryuma's shadow, across his own stolen soulmate- and around them, it exploded, enshrouding Brook's body while protecting him from the sun. Surrounded by it, Brook heard distant voices, auguring men and a terrified childish whimper. He turned his eye-socketed to the side and saw within the shadows was an image, an entryway to a building and four men facing off with a child in the middle of it all.

Shadows like the ones surrounding him surrounded her as well. And as Brook stared, she lifted her head, revealing the brightest of eyes and a mess of black curls, coupled with a face as pale as his bones.

And Ryuma's sword plunged through his chest.

The shadows around them recoiled, rushing back to the ground and stealing away the glimpse he'd gotten. The sun struck him across the arm, and Brook wrenched back, fleeing the clearing. He raced into the forest without pursuit as he was forced to flee, to train, to try again.

He'd reclaim his shadow without fail.

* * *

Magic twisted around Holly and the men around her, as her shadow exploded surrounding them. They were enveloped with it; as twisting arms of darkness dragged at them, suffocating them. Mister Snape's shadow resisted, like a thousand arms it battered at it while he brought up his wand uncertain of what he could or should do to defend himself. Beside Mister Snape, the scarred man cried out a name, a name she only just recognized belonged to her godfather. While across from her, the old man screamed her name and Holly didn't know why, but nothing good happened form adults yelling her name, so she cowered deeper into her god-fathers secure grip. The shadows responded to her fear snapping out at the old man, they wrenched his weapon from his hands and vanished it into darkness.

Then she saw something, something out of the corner of her eye. Like her shadow had gained physical form and had cupped her chin to make her look. Holly lifted her eyes and stared into death's. A skeleton with a perfect circle of hair topped with a top-hat. Holly didn't see much past that as she gaped at the skeleton in front of her. She didn't know if she was scared or supposed to be, she was too stuck on staring. When a sword plunged through the skeleton's rib-cage causing it's non-expression to look almost put off. Holly gave a panicked shriek at the sight, and the magic holding everything still ran out.

"Holly!"

She snapped back to attention, as magic twisted pulling the skeleton away and recoiled. The shadows grabbed blindly at the people around her, the older man was first to be wrenched back and away pulled literally into the ground. Mister Snape was thrown to the side violently and pulled right into the wall, while the man he had been standing with was dragged right along with him.

Holly and Sirius alone remained still in the chaos, as shadows embraced her and a rattling sound echoed in the distance. Then, all at once, the shadows dispersed, leaving her and Sirius alone in an empty building.

Sirius collapsed to the ground panting in exhaustion and sickness. Holly released a soft 'oomph' from the fall and found herself trapped in her godfather's unconscious grip. Wiggling slightly she freed her arm and head enough to glance around. The men were gone, all but her godfather and the house was now once again, safe. Making a face, Holly glanced down at Sirius who was panting weakly and wondered.

What the bloody hell was she supposed to do now?

* * *

Severus cracked open his eyes and swore. 'What the bloody fuck had happened?' One minute he'd been shielding himself from Black's potential hallucinogenic attack and the next Holly Potter's shadow had surrounded them all in her fright. Accidental magic at it's worst he knew. Whatever had happened had been a result of the combined magics of the worlds most powerful wizards, the elder wand, and Holly Potter's fear.

Rolling onto his stomach, Severus palmed his wand and forced his body up. He squinted at the light shining on his face as it made his head pound, and he pushed up to his feet. Severus took in his surroundings and quickly established he was no longer in London, let alone the British isles. His environment was too tropical to be the United Kingdom, the trees were that of a hotter climate, as was the grass, and the temperature around him. The air was muggy and wet, and he could feel it in his lungs with every breath he took.

Severus shrugged off his outer robe quickly, something his students would be shocked to learn he was capable of doing. Then he loosened the several top buttons of his shirt to give himself a bit of breathing room.

Rather than do something stupid, like apparating an unknown distance back to where he had been, potentially ripping himself apart from the magic cost. Severus tapped his wrist and tried to use magic first to find out his location. As he did, lettering floated over his wrist and glitched out, familiar letters twisted and turned as if trying to mimic something else, creating a cluster of nonsense. He sneered and dismissed the useless spell.

"Point me, the nearest civilization." His wand spun on his palm and, spun, and spun. Severus growled and stopped it: "point me, Holly Potter." And it spun, and spun, and spun. "Point me, Hogwarts. London. Europe. The forest. The nearest tree? North!" and it spun on and on and on.

Holding his wand, Severus pressed the tip to his chin and scanned his surroundings. There were trees all around him, but the spell didn't work. Which meant there was a problem with the spell itself, that or- "something is interfering with scrying magic." He reasoned. The point-me charm worked like a specifically targeted compass; it pointed to what you wanted it to, but it still worked like a compass. Which meant there was something in the area that messed with scrying magic, like intense amounts magnetized rock.

Severus clicked his teeth. There was nothing for it, he'd simply have to pick a direction and hope for the best. To find civilization and eventually make his way back home via the Muggle method, of walking.

He started forward deeply cursing Lupin, Black, Dumbledore, and the girl for his current predicament. If she had trusted them to handle the situation, if she'd calmed down a moment- no, it wasn't her fault. She was capable of responding calmly despite the abuse thrown upon her, he'd seen it just that morning when she'd woken to calmly greet him. The trouble hadn't been Potter, nor had it even been Black, it had been the fool old man.

He grumbled as he stomped through the trees. Had Dumbledore just listened to his warning, heeding his caution that they were terrifying the girl things might have been different. For a man in charge of a school, Dumbledore was blind to abuse and how to treat someone who had suffered it. There was, after all, an excellent reason it had taken Lily's potential death for Severus to turn to the man, who had failed regardless!

A blind man could have seen Potter had been terrified, and Dumbledore should have sensed her volatile magic building as he went to attack the one person she trusted. However, to the fools credit, even Severus hadn't expected her power to be so intense. Certainly, he'd been of the firm belief that it was Lily that defeated the dark lord and not Potter. He had the utmost confidence that Lily had crafted a spell which gave her life-force to defeat Voldemort and did not hold much credit in the inane theories that 'love' had anything to do with it. Or that Holly herself was a challenge to a being such as the Dark Lord. She was a child, with an odd shadow like Severus' own, not a dark lady in training.

But her power, enough to send him hurtling through space on accident, that… that was a sign that perhaps she had actually been involved in the Dark Lord's death after all. Not to the point that she was a dark lady, she was a child for Merlin's sake. But, the power, that was reason enough to say the prophecy had, to the point he'd heard it, been accurate.

Hours Severus walked, twice he had been attacked by mammals with no resemblance to ones he ought to recognize. The third time, a bear three times its regular size attacked him, he handled the creature smoothly and elected to cut it apart for a meal. The problem, however, was that Severus was well aware, a bear, in general, should not have been in the tropical environment he found himself in. Its very presence suggested that Severus had been sent a bit farther than earlier assued.

The language, the spell, the animals, it was leading to an unfortunate conclusion that Severus dared not dwell on. He couldn't believe Potter was that powerful; that she could send him to another world entirely.

Finally, after a full day of walking in one straight direction, Severus found an end to the trees. Before him lay an ocean spreading as far as the eye could see, in the distance Severus could see a small fishing village. But upon closer look, he realized it resembled nothing from the world as he knew it. Feeling faint Severus turned on his heel and apparated a throwing distance from the village. Then he glided into it on foot quickly taking in as much as he could.

A language he had never seen lay across signs, and out of the mouths of the people wandering past. They wore a varying style of clothing, blending different era's without care to the point that no one of them gave his unique clothes a second look. Flags flew above them in blue and white with a symbol he'd never seen. And the technology was thoroughly mixed. Money was exchanged with a currency he'd never seen before.

But the genuinely damning fact? Someone was using a phone, but it was a snail.

Holly Potter had sent him to another world. And Bless the gods that he'd been intelligent enough not to try and apparate back home, he'd have ripped himself into pieces.

* * *

Sirius regained consciousness slowly, he regained it on the floor with his goddaughter curled on top of him like a Kneazle looking for warmth. His head was pounding, and the very idea of standing was enough to make his entire mind scream the word 'no.' Still, Sirius gently placed his hands on the cold ground and carted his useless body into a sitting position. Holly slid into his lap, and Sirius forced a hand to his mouth to stifle the painful hacking coughs, so he didn't wake her.

When the fit left him, Sirius scanned his surroundings. He was in Remus' home, that much he recognized from first glimpses. But Remus was nowhere to be found, and the house was deathly silent leading Sirius to believe Remus wasn't there at all. That thought gave him fearful pause, he didn't remember arriving with Holly or anything that happened after he'd stolen her away. He must have run hoping Remus would trust him, but what if he hadn't, what if he'd gone for the Aurors while Sirius had been unconscious?

Gritting his teeth, Sirius forced his body up and placed Holly gently down, where he shifted into canine form. Quickly Sirius scented the ground trying to distinguish how long he'd been out and if Remus' scent was actually present. It could be possible Sirius had broken in- but no.

His hackles went up as he scented Snape and Dumbledore on the air. Remus had betrayed him.

Sirius didn't pause to wonder why, if Snape and Dumbledore had been around, why they no longer were. Or why, if they had been around him, had they left Holly with him instead of stealing her back.

He needed to leave before the Aurors came to arrest him and have him kissed before they came to take Holly back to those creatures. Sirius shifted back in his human form, struggled to his feet, and tucked Holly into his arms where he staggered and leaned against the staircase banister before pushing away from it. Where could he go? Where wouldn't he be chased if Remus was in league with Snape and Dumbledore. Sirius needed somewhere no one would expect him.

"-Muggle world." He rumbled out, and tried to shake out the fog in his head. In Circe's name, he was so tired, he just wanted to lay down and stop- No, safety first, Holly first, then he could rest. Sirius forced his way forward when his foot kicked something, hazily he glanced down, one eye closed as it watered and the other squinting. There on the ground was a wand.

There was no way he was that lucky? An abandoned wand?

He laughed and immediately felt a burn in his throat. Sirius hacked, coughing frantically until he almost passed out from a lack of air before he regained control. Making a mental note not to laugh again, he glanced down at Holly who had opened her eyes and was peering at him worriedly. "Sorry pup," he rasped, "didn't mean to wake you." He stooped down slightly and snatched the wand from the ground.

With this, he could apparate, he could adequately protect and care for Holly. With a wand, he could actually do something.

"S'ok, are you alright Sirius?"

"Been better." He admitted and lowered Holly to the ground, it was better for her to stand under her own power, Sirius wasn't sure he could manage to carry her for too much longer. "Alright, Pup I want you to hold my hand, we're going to apparate, it's err… we're going to go somewhere else really quickly okay Pup?" He rubbed his neck slightly at the burn from speaking, "it'll feel strange, but I promise it's safe."

"Mmkay." She reached up and took his hand in her own. Sirius was warmed by the trust she had in him and gave her a beaming smile as he gripped her hand tightly. A side-along, he used to be great at it, but it had been a long time since he'd done any magic outside of the animegus transformation. Perhaps Sirius should have tested the wand or cast a single spell with it before using it for something like apparating with his five-year-old goddaughter. He didn't.

A slowly forming plan moved through his head. He knew he couldn't stay in London, not where Holly would be so easily recognized. Where the ministry would no doubt put out his name to the muggle world for more eyes to catch him. But there was a beach and a building, Black-owned, that Dorea used to own and had given him. The only person who knew about it had been James, so it ought to be relatively safe.

They'd be safe there, he could recover there, could teach Holly there.

And avoid Remus there.

A pang struck his heart, and Sirius forced himself to ignore it.

Pulling at his magic, picturing the street he'd seen on a trip with James before everything, Sirius turned on his heel and vanished with a crack.

* * *

_"Where are you?"_

_"Sirius respond to me."_

_"Please, are you alright? Are you safe? I believe you- I…"_

_"I'm lost, this place… it's not Earth, I don't even have a sign for it."_

_"Sirius."_

_"Sirius, mate, love-"_

_"Sorry."_

_"Sorry. So sorry."_

_"…Please."_

**_"Remus."_**


	5. Chapter 5

_'Ms H. Potter,_

_The second-largest bedroom._

_The Fourth Black Ancestral Summer Home-'_

That was it, they didn't need anything else. Finally, they had it, the address of the Potter girl and Sirius Black through her Hogwarts acceptance letter, something that had been hidden until she turned eleven. With the letter in hand, the Aurors didn't waste a moment, cracks sounded as the group apparated away to hunt down an eleven-year-old girl and her godfather.

Left alone in her office Minerva sank into her chair in regret. Ever since Albus had vanished, she had been holding the school together with glue and string. The choice to allow the Aurors to see a school letter for the first time in history had been a desperate one. A decision she knew Albus had to be rolling in his grave for. A grave Sirius Black had to have filled after kidnapping Lily and James child, for nothing else explained Albus and Severus' mysterious disappearance all those years ago.

Minerva glanced at the portrait behind her, which remained stubbornly silent, his kind glittering eyes were harsh, and he turned his back on her when she looked toward him. Albus hadn't approved, the address book for the children of Hogwarts was sacred, and no Headmaster before her had ever failed in their duty to protect it. Till her, till now.

This was for the best she told herself. Albus and Severus needed to be avenged and Holly… Holly could be helped; she was young yet. She could be turned from the darkness, from the path Black had to be dragging her along. She had to let the Aurors see the book so she could bring James' child to the school so that she'd be close enough that Minerva could curb that darkness like Albus had failed to do with Tom. Once she was in school and returned to her lovely heart-broken aunt and uncle, everything would be fine.

"This is for the best." She told the portrait, and Albus shook his head and vanished into the frame leaving Minerva in her office, alone.

* * *

"Be safe Sirius, keep our pup safe and Holly, I love you, have a great time."

Holly pulled her eyes away from Sirius' shadow to the man himself at the same moment he yanked his own eyes away. In that short moment, Holly could read his every emotion, the pain, the uncertainty, the want, before it was wiped from his face, and Sirius returned to his usual happy-go-lucky self. At eleven, Holly didn't quite understand what Sirius was truly feeling, but she did know that her godfather's relationship with his soulmate was complicated, much like her own was.

Sirius clapped his hands together, yanking his dark thoughts back onto track for that special day. "Alright, so the plan!" he watched Holly physically shake her head and perk up her own thoughts. They both dragged their minds away from the complicated relationship she and he both had with Remus, and was glad he hadn't taken too much time to dwell on it himself. Angst was not something they wanted that day, if ever, but especially not that day.

"You will remain by my side at all times!" he pointed dramatically at Holly, who giggled.

"But what if I see something shiny?"

The little imp. "Even then!"

"Sir, yes sir!" Holly playfully saluted him, and neither of them gave any mind to how that might have looked to Holly's soulmate who still hadn't moved years after he stopped. True, thanks to Remus, they now knew far more about the skeletal figure, but his lack of movement could only be guessed upon. A month after Sirius had fled the country with Holly, he'd finally allowed himself to communicate, to sign, to Remus trapped in a new world.

Thanks to Remus, who had made the island he'd ended up on his new home, they knew Holly had somehow managed to transport Remus to her soulmates homeworld. Remus had assumed due to what Sirius remembered, that Severus Snape and Dumbledore had also been dumped in that world, or ripped in half by the magic that did it, which was Sirius' hope… for one of them. Because of Remus, they had learned about a corrupt system, pirates, a king, and powers the belonged to the devil. Remus had been quick to assume and guess that Holly's soulmate possessed one of these fantastical abilities, one turned him into a living skeleton. Though Devil fruits did not explain why he had moved when she'd been an infant and had stopped around the time she turned five.

His lack of movement, of course, didn't stop Holly from signing to him. She chatted on about her day, her likes, her wishes, her dreams and assumed that while he was unable to move, he must have appreciated what she did. Holly cited that people in comas could hear their loved ones talking to them, so she'd do no less for her stationary skeleton. Remus and Sirius didn't argue, who knew if he could see what she did or not.

Regardless, her skeleton didn't move when Holly saluted her godfather in play.

"Our mission, if you choose to accept it." Sirius placed his hands behind his back and stared Holly down, "is to get your very first wand, and not be caught on the way."

This would be far easier if Sirius could take her to another country for her wand, or if he had James' cloak. The latter had gone missing with Dumbledore, who borrowed it before James' death. Sirius assumed Dumbledore had hidden it at the school, and despite knowing paths into the school, it was not a risk he was willing to take. If only to prevent himself from being kissed and abandoning Holly with no one to care for her. While the former, well despite living all over the world, Sirius knew getting a wand for a child was no simple task. No country but England gave out their wands to eleven-year-olds, places like the United States only gave out wands while the children were at school and locations like Japan didn't even give out real wands, but instead, pens and disguised items were used. Sirius could find an illegal wand; he had the money and connections to get one, but those never worked quite right, and this was Holly's first wand. He wanted the best for his pup. Which meant following tradition, and getting a wand from Ollivander's.

This trip was the riskiest they'd done… ever. They had to sneak into Diagon Alley itself, the hornets' nest, during it's busiest time of the year without getting caught. That meant not passing through any disguise stripping wards. Not letting anyone see Holly's curse scar that only Muggle makeup could cover, and not allowing Holly to be hit by a single light that would reveal her distinctive shadow. Truthfully her shadow was the only significant concern Sirius actually had; he wished often she had a regular soulmate because of how troublesome the bloody immobile skeleton was. Shadows could not be disguised at all.

If Holly had a regular shadow, then the 'who' involved was more open. People would look at the distinct lines and at most be able to tell the height, possibly the gender, and the hairstyle involved. When Sirius walked around as a fugitive in the Muggle or Magical world, people would look at Remus and be able to tell his haircut and that he was wearing a cloak. They wouldn't use Remus to identify Sirius. But for Holly… no one, absolutely no one, had anything close to the obviously skeletal figure, not even those that lost their soulmates. When a soulmate died, a person would simply regain their own shadow, they wouldn't have a decaying body behind them.

Holly might not be an official fugitive like Sirius was, but that wouldn't stop the magical community from snatching her away from him the moment they recognized her. Sirius could only imagine what would happen to his pup if anyone but him ever got hold of her. They'd had enough close calls that edged of life-threatening during the first few years they'd been together. And Sirius was not so stupid as to disregard the abuse Petunia Dursley had put his girl through. He'd never allow Holly to be taken from him, which was why he was so meticulous over this risky trip.

Sirius was a Gryffindor, he had been beyond reckless as a child. But his priorities shifted once he became Holly's guardian. He was still Gryffindor enough to risk the trip, but he was a little something more to ensure the trip went safely.

Besides, Holly badly needed a wand even if she was home-schooled.

"Are you ready?"

"I'm ready." Holly had been using Sirius' wand to practice small child-safe spells for years; she'd learned potions, astronomy, divination, about creatures, and runes through Sirius' lessons. She'd learned history, Muggle and Magical, the former right at Sirius' side. They'd done playful science experiments and ventured out into the Muggle world on overcast days to see the world. But actual magic had not been something Holly had been able to do. She'd been too young, and then she hadn't had her own wand. Holly couldn't defend herself with shields, stunners, or hexes. She couldn't use charms like her mother, or transfiguration like her father. Until now. Until she finally turned eleven, and Sirius had decided the risk was worth it.

"What are the rules?"

Holly straightened up: "we have to leave if the sun comes out." Was the first she said well aware that her shadow was the biggest giveaway, they only ever went anywhere on overcast days where shadows were limited and the people scarce. People always felt weird when they couldn't see their shadows, and it put many off going anywhere when the day ensured they couldn't. Holly and Sirius took full advantage of that fact and traveled on those particular days while avoiding the many lights placed around to make shadows stretch across the ground.

"Always keep you between any lights and me." Holly continued knowing Sirius was very used to standing in the exact spot, which allowed Remus' darkened figure to cover her body. "We're to use fake names, and I can't touch my fringe; otherwise, I'll smudge the makeup." She knew how to apply it by then, and her scar was covered up by the time she'd gone down for breakfast. The rest of her disguise Sirius would apply before they left, turning her black hair to brown and her mother's eyes to her fathers. "And… Uhm…"

"Have fun," Sirius finished ruffling her hair, "Good job pup, I think with that we're ready!"

Holly bounced on the spot as Sirius pulled out the wand he'd found all those years ago, Dumbledore's he'd told her, which was a bit finicky for him. Sirius honestly thought he might get a new wand himself considering how difficult Dumbledore's wand was for him. Holding it firmly between his fingers just encase it decided to escape - again - Sirius tapped Holly over the head. Color seeped into her hair, and her feature shifted to make her look like his child than James. Finishing that Sirius tapped his own head, which shortened and straightened his hair, it changed his overall features and made him just plain enough to escape notice.

Putting on a bit of an accent, Sirius ran a hand through his short hair and said: "Ready kiddo?"

Holly tapped her square-shaped glasses, which further disguised her face and pulled her entire look away from James and announced: "Ready!" Holly linked her hand with Sirius,' and without bothering to step outside of one of the many homes they collectively own, Sirius apparated them away a split second before the wards went off as a group attempted to break-in.

* * *

Remus leaned back, forcing himself to try and relax, with his leg crossed, he stared at the book on his lap and attempted to focus. Unfortunately, his mind continued to wander. Remus' gaze slid to his shadow as his body dramatically twisted, revealing he had apparated. A moment later, Sirius was bouncing along, taking Holly on her very first trip to Diagon Alley and risking everything to do it.

Remus hadn't approved, had told Sirius, again and again, to just get Holly an illegal wand, but Sirius wouldn't hear of it. He'd claimed Holly deserved, at the very least, the experience her parents had. She deserved to get a wand from Ollivander, to see Diagon Alley, to experience it all, especially since they couldn't risk her going to Hogwarts. Not with Minerva on the warpath, not with the Aurors already having nearly snatched Holly away from Sirius three times previously. Not with a generation raised on the story of the dark lady Potter. Remus could only imagine what the children would do to her, those that were convinced she was a dark lady and those who knew better because of their death eater parents.

Sirius' head twisted all over, looking at all the sights and explaining them no doubt. Remus wished he could be there, wanted to see Holly growing up and see the expression on her face as she finally saw their world. He wanted it just as he wished James and Lily could be there to view it. That none of this had happened. That Sirius and he were actually in a decent place, that Sirius actually trusted him. But Sirius did not, and Remus couldn't blame him. He knew the truth now, knew what Pettigrew had done, and realized how often Sirius had tried to tell him after being arrested. Just as he knew how hurt he was that Sirius had actually thought he'd been the traitor-

Their relationship was a mess, it had always been a mess. They had been torn apart by Remus' hatred for himself, by Sirius' uncertainty and recklessness. Remus, as a child, had told himself that if he hadn't been bitten, then he and Sirius would have been perfect. But a werewolf and a human together would never work, ever. It got better when Sirius became an animegus, Remus had thought… maybe. And they'd given each other a chance at Lily and James' furious insistence. And it had worked until they graduated and the war… the missions Dumbledore continued to send Remus on, the knowledge of a traitor in their ranks, the secrets, the deaths.

Sirius and Remus were a mess, and the years apart hadn't helped.

Sirius now lived on the run and had changed drastically over the years of raising Holly. While Remus had been thrown into a completely different environment, a world with different rules, customs, and people. And they'd changed unable to connect, to learn about each other through anything but their shadows.

Soulmates… were they ever really destined to be together? Were they truly supposed to be perfect for one another? Or were they perhaps truly just two halves of a whole destined to suffer similar pains and to respond in the same heart-breaking way. Remus didn't know and if this continued… then he'd never find out.

Remus cast his book to the side and forced himself to stand. He was doing no good sitting there, perhaps a walk in the forest would help. It was better than nothing he supposed.

* * *

"Wow!" Holly plastered herself against the glass of the racing broom display beside a dozen other excited children gushing about the brand new Nimbus. Sirius watched her fondly making sure he was directly behind her, so the light from the store hit him, and his shadow stretched out behind them instead of hers. He could still see a bit of a skeletal hand, but no one was staring at the ground, so it was alright for the moment.

"Si- dad! Look, this is so cool!" Holly corrected her slip quickly and bounced toward him, peeling herself from the display as another child replaced her.

Sirius was quick to ruffle her hair once more and say: "you're definitely your dad's kid." Meaning James, of course. Holly's love of the skies was legendary, and while she preferred the seekers' position, her skill with the broom was undoubtedly akin to her fathers in the daredevil, heart-stopping way. Sirius now had a brand new appreciation for safety charms and the absolute refusal Euphemia kept up to watch James' games in their childhood.

"Can we get one?" oh no, the puppy eyes. Sirius quickly looked away; no matter how many years he'd been her guardian, he still couldn't resist those eyes. The few parents he'd met claimed he'd get over it at one point, but he really hadn't. He could afford the whims, felt guilty over her first four years of life, and Holly never honestly asked for a lot, but in this case… the lighting in the shop itself was a bit too much.

"We'll owl order it." Sirius decided. He'd buy two, and he'd give it to her on the first so she wasn't thinking about all the school things she'd miss, and that would get his mind off it and his own guilt as well. If he hadn't been so stupid, then he wouldn't be a fugitive, and she could have lived a relatively ordinary life and-

"Deal!" Holly grabbed his hand and tugged him off to the next shop. She paused briefly near the bookstore; after all the time spent inside and hidden, Holly had a great love of books. Books were the friends she couldn't have because of her shadow, they were tales of grand adventures that gave her a distant idea of the world her soulmate existed in. They were the teachers Sirius tried his absolute best to be. And they were the escape when Sirius became a bit too much to handle since he likewise had little else to do during the day but be with her. Holly had no shortage of books, Muggle or Magical, she had countless stories to pick up and take in. So for that moment, Holly dismissed the store to focus on something she couldn't pick up just anywhere.

"Where is…"

"Ollivanders?" Sirius guessed, warily giving the sky a look, there was a unfortunate amount of blue on the horizon and it was worrying, "right this way, my lady." He took Holly's elbow and escorted her toward the darkened shop, they bypassed Gringotts and other stores. Each that Holly had heard of at one point, Gringotts she'd in fact been snuck into on several occasions to talk about their properties. That was what Sirius did for a living, he fixed up homes and cars and rented them out all over the world. It allowed them both endless escape homes and gave Holly and Sirius both something to do when they got bored. Fixing up motors, tearing down non-load bearing walls, painting extravagant designs, and figuring out what matched and what didn't… though they never had sold that first gold and red home for some reason.

The shop appeared in the distance, and Holly started vibrating in excitement. She could just see it, her mum and dad visiting this store for the very first time. Young, excited, and about to meet each other for the first time unaware that they were each other's soulmates.

The question slipped out before Holly could help herself, her long-time bedtime story, she wanted to hear it again at that moment. "How come Dad and mum didn't get together right away?" Lily and James had been a match but hadn't gotten together until they were sixteen years old, and Holly often asked why since it was a safer story than Sirius and Remus' relationship.

Sirius gave a bark of a laugh, one of the few things he couldn't disguise about himself as he happily started on Holly's favorite tale, no matter how many books she tried out. "Okay, err… James and Lily didn't see each other right away that day, James told me he was distracted by the broom that had just come out… a little like someone else I know." Holly beamed as they swung their hands together all but skipping in place as they slowed their pace to get the story in. "And Lily… well, she was always a book worm and an experimenter, and since this was her first trip into the Magical world, she had to visit the bookstore."

"Of course." Holly nodded along able to see her mother perched sideways in the chair Sirius had stolen from Godric's Hallow on her eighth birthday as a gift, along with a moving picture of her mother reading backward in it.

"So, while they were both visiting their specific stores, James ran into a…" Sirius made a face and tried to repeat what Remus told him in his head, "a 'friend' of Lily's and got into a bit of an argument with him." Sirius hadn't been there, so he didn't know what set off the event, James had never been very clear about it, and their memories had faded after the years they'd fought with Snape. Sirius liked to think Snape started it, but he honestly had no idea, and he was aware Snape had saved his life and had defended him and Holly against Dumbledore, so he did his best not to taint the man's image in front of Holly… even if he wanted to. "Of course, that was when Lily ran into them."

"And Dad knew right away that Lily was his." Holly eagerly said as the shop got close.

"That he did, he took one look at her, at the hair, the clothes, the way she moved, he'd memorized it all, and when James saw Lily, he knew."

"But Mom didn't think so."

Sirius snorted, that was certainly putting it mildly: "your mum didn't realize it for years. First, because he and her friend were fighting, then because of the pranks we… might have pulled." He shook his head as they stopped in front of Ollivanders and put his hand on the door. This was it. The point of their trip, so far so good. Now they just had to get the wand and get out.

"I don't know how she didn't notice." Holly put forth as Sirius opened the door, "I mean… didn't she see her shadow moving at the same time that dad did?"

"it's a bit more complicated than that sometimes kiddo." He stepped inside, and Holly fell silent thankfully before he had to explain. She had asked that question before, and he'd been able to distract her, but it got harder every time it came up. After all, how could he tell her that Lily had despised James for years and that even when James showed Lily that he moved in time with Lily's shadow that Lily refused to acknowledge it out of anger. How could he tell Holly that Lily had once furiously used Sirius and Remus as an example of how badly pairs could match up sometimes when she'd finally believed it. How could he tell her his own reaction to those biting words, or how James had broken down that night swearing to change after getting so drunk that Sirius had been forced to take him to Pomfrey.

Lily and James had been human, they'd been dysfunctional. They'd loved each other in the end, they'd been happy when the war hadn't cut pieces of their away. But no one was perfect, and Holly still believed in soulmates and perfect pairs that never argued and never had issues. She was a kid, and he'd keep her innocent for as long as possible, especially since the world had stolen away a great deal of her childhood.

"Ah, I wondered if I would be seeing you, Miss Potter."

Holly shrieked, jumping a foot in the air as Ollivander showed himself from the bowls of his shop. She pressed herself into Sirius' leg, wary over the man that saw right through her disguises. Sirius personally stared the man down, waiting to see which way the man fell when it came to the girl-who-lived theories. Sirius suspected Ollivander could care little for the tales, but he'd been proven wrong before.

"Relax child, Mister Black, I have no intentions of calling the so-called 'authorities.'" Ollivander scoffed slightly, "Now relax, and tell me… which is your wand arm?"

Holly shot him a look, and Sirius nodded quickly; the lighting in the shop put Holly's shadow on the back way in the flickering light, and he wanted to be done before another student entered the shop. He was hoping Holly would find her wand quickly.

"My right." Holly stepped forward as Sirius had explained and offered her hand. The magical measuring tape quickly rushed around her as Ollivander vanished into the back to collect several boxes, which he dropped onto the table between them. The first was shoved into her hand, and Holly didn't need to hold it to know it was wrong. It was taken, and the second she did actually wave, only to destroy the nearby vase. The third didn't even touch her palm before it was snatched away, and the fourth was best not spoken of.

Sirius' hopes that the visit would be quick was dashed in short order as wand after wand was given and taken away. Time ticked on, and while they were lucky that no one entered, Holly was proving to be a particularly unique client: "much like that shadow of yours," Ollivander told her, "you are one of a kind Miss Potter, but not to worry, we will find the wand that matches you before the night is up!"

Sirius cringed, hoping it didn't take that long, nightfall was a mess for hiding because of all the lights. "No, no, definitely not! Try this instead!" a flash hit the room, furniture shattered, the wind picked up and tossed wands everywhere. Each wand was worse than the last until a pensive expression took over Ollivander's face.

He hadn't wanted to try that one, not after Dumbledore insisted those years ago that that wand would be hers. Not after all the tales and stories, utter nonsense and superstition had plagued the magical world, but… but it was possible. Ollivander went to the back and selected it curious and excited deep down, and suddenly positive… this was her wand.

"Try… this."

Holly reached out her hand, allowing the wood to slide between her fingers and knew. Pure energy raced down her arm and into her core, it warmed her chilled body and touched on something within her that she didn't even know was there. And without being prompted, Holly flicked the wand, which felt lighter than the air in an elegant arc. Musical notes exploded from the tip, dancing in the air and humming a beautiful tune. The song was not one she'd ever heard before, but Holly recognized it somehow anyway and couldn't help but smile.

"Holly and phoenix feather… appropriate." Ollivander told her.

"Your name-sake," Sirius said somehow unsurprised at that, a wand of her name and a creature of rebirth. The mix was interesting, more so when you took into account the deathly soulmate.

"How curious…" Ollivander continued, and Sirius felt a shiver race down his spine as Holly placed the appropriate payment down, something she insisted on paying for herself.

"What is?" Holly asked absently, setting the wand into the holder Sirius had bought her for that birthday.

"That you were destined for this wand when it's brother… gave you that scar."

Sirius sucked in a breath, eyes shooting to the wand, it looked nothing like the bone-white monstrosity Voldemort had carried, but the knowledge… this was the brother wand to Voldemort's. Of course it was, that was just his luck-

"What does that even mean?" Holly scrunched her nose and raised a hand to her forehead, her fingers brushed the scar hidden away by the Muggle makeup. Sirius rushed forward, clamping his hands on Holly's shoulders to tug her from the shop and away from this situation entirely. He backed off, dragging Holly and swatted her hand away from her scar.

"It doesn't mean a thing." He snapped irritated at Ollivander for bringing that up, they could have gone their entire lives without that information! Now Holly was going to be questioning it, worried that she was like the monster that killed her parents. The one that didn't even have a soulmate because of how dark he was- "thanks for whatever, we're going now." He tugged Holly outside- and right into the sunlight.

They'd been in the shop for forty-five minutes, long enough to find a way, and long enough for the sky to clear slightly from overcast to mostly cloudy. Sirius stopped dead as Holly's shadow spread across the building behind them, and no matter where he stood, his own did not disguise the skeletal figure, and it's obvious afro.

Maybe no one noticed? Perhaps he could… he could reach one of the apparition points calmly and get them out-

A scream hit the air, a single old woman was staring at them both and pointing right at his kid.

And all hell broke loose as someone was reckless enough, Gryffindor enough, to shoot a revealing spell right into his gut. One stupid teenager trying to be a hero and Sirius' disguise melted away, revealing his curled black hair and evident Black heritage. He, who had once been an Auror, let a teenager get a spell against him, and he would forever curse himself for it.

Not wasting another second for someone to reveal who Holly was Sirius hurled a shield up in time for an aggressive and poorly cast stunner to splash against it. Someone was screaming for the Aurors; two more were crying out his name, and some stupid fool had made the connection about Holly's publically reported shadow and the one attached to her.

Sirius pushed Holly behind his legs and stepped into a dueling pose. She clutched his leg, which would help him if he got a moment to apparate away, if he got it. Clearly, the sheep knew they had to keep him busy, and they weren't giving him a single moment to escape. Spells beat at his shield, dozens of them to create a wave a color that could be harmless or lethal, Sirius didn't know.

His Auror training allowed Sirius to weave spells in between his casted shields, using the split second between casts to retaliate with powerful attacks. Yet no one noticed the people he actually struck were not killed as they all assumed. One spell of green slipped between his breaks, and Sirius' heart stopped, that color- that shade- it struck his chest like a hyppogriff, and one of his rips cracked.

Blasted charm... not the killing curse.

Sirius cried out, his shield failing, and two more slipped right past his guard as Aurors arrived on the scene - they had never been so quick! How were they this fast this one time? A spell sliced right through his cheek and narrowly missed his eye as it caused a violent, bloody gash, and Holly stepped forward desperately crying out: "Protago!"

She'd never cast the spell before in her life, that was the first day she'd ever had her wand, but by some miracle, a shield actually formed around them. Two spells violently shuddered against the glittering wall before one of the Aurors powerful spells cracked her weaker one, and Holly was pushed backward. A hex flew past and hit Holly in the face, and her teeth started to grow and grow-

Sirius stood, ignoring the blood running down his face and rushed into combat. He ignored the defensive measures he'd started with and started to attack. He was furious at what these stupid sheep had done to his god-daughter- another spell hit him, and Sirius was hurled backward violently. He stuck the doors to Ollivanders and was sent right through it, crashing into the shop itself.

A concussion… he had a… everything was spin… "shit!" Sirius slammed a hand on the ground, shoving wood splinters from shattered wands into his hand. He ignored that however and forced himself up and toward the door, toward his kid. Toward the area where Holly was screaming his name-

"DAD! Someone, please help-"

"What the bloody hell is that?!" Someone cried, and Sirius surged out of the door, avoiding the spell that nearly took out his head. And he saw it, Holly had fallen as a dozen different hexes revealed themselves against her skin. Her hands were on top of her shadow, and it was rippling upward. Like claws, it pulled off the ground, reached up surrounding her small frame- and slammed around her.

The shadows dispersed in an instant, and the street where Holly had just been was left bare. Holly was gone.

He couldn't breathe, he knew what that magic was- Holly had been taken to the world of her soulmate, she was safe, but she was also… gone.

His kid was gone… forever-

The Aurors turned on him, they'd capture him and return to him to Azkaban at best. And Sirius didn't want to fight them, he wanted to laugh… to laugh and break and just let them- his kid was gone-

A hand grabbed his, and a familiar voice hissed in his ear: "you absolute moron! What are you doing? Run!" and the pull of apparition stole him away.

* * *

Holly hurt; her entire body was on fire. She was puking up slugs, her teeth wouldn't stop growing, burns raced all over her arm, and boils across her torso. Countless hexes and spells had hit her when Sirius had been knocked backward through the door. The shield he'd kept up, magical, and his actual body had been removed in that instant, and Holly was left helpless to the onslaught.

Her shadow had saved her, rising up to take the spells away and to bring her somewhere safe. To the place where Remus lived. Holly understood that much, but she also realized that it had left Sirius behind in her homeworld. And she was… Holly didn't even know where she was.

Holly felt tears run down her face, and they burned at the boils across her cheeks, but she couldn't stop. She curled her legs up, forcing the one eye that could actually open, to do so, and saw she was in the middle of an alley-way. It wasn't the shadowy forest she knew from her memories or the island that Remus made his home. She was lost… lost, and Sirius was probably dead.

What was she supposed to do now? Find Remus, she only knew what he looked like from pictures, and he wouldn't know she was even there. Not to mention finding the island he'd mentioned would be nearly impossible with the dangers of her soulmates world. Pirates, celestial dragons, slaves, marines, this would wasn't safe. Holly couldn't even handle some magical civilians… fighting all that to get to her soulmate or godfather was be… she couldn't do it. Also, if she did… how was she supposed to tell Remus that Sirius was gone because of her because they'd gone for her wand-

Fingers tapped her chin, and Holly squeaked as her head was lifted. A teen was staring at her with dark eyes and a curious expression. Holly flailed slightly as he turned her head to peer at her still growing teeth. "Interesting…" he mused, "I've never seen something like this." He reached with his free hand and measured the slowing growth actively while Holly was caught blankly staring and uncertain of what to do about him.

"How did this occur?"

"-wah?" she slurred around her teeth and winced.

"No, you wouldn't be able to talk like that." He eyed her hands and dismissed writing as well, two of her fingers were broken, and the rest was covered by a genuinely odd-looking rash, one he'd never seen before. Deciding the only way to figure out what had happened was to the fix the problem; he nodded and reached forward.

Without warning, the teen grabbed Holly and lifted her into his grip off the floor. She flailed, making protesting noises to the best of her ability, which he ignored. "Stop moving, I'll fix it." Which didn't really help because he sounded a little too thrilled at her predicament? But as her teeth reached her chest, Holly realized she didn't really have a choice but to hope he would honestly be able to do so. She also hoped he wasn't the sort of person that would kidnap her to be a slave-

Holly choked, and a slug escaped her mouth, causing her eyes to tear up, and the teen made a curious, yet delighted sound.

"Aren't you going to be an interesting patient."

* * *

**AN: To note, I have messed with canon in this fic, violently of course, but specifically - Brook lost his shadow far earlier than he did in canon. To put it into perspective, Holly is currently the same age as Luffy. Thanks for reading 3 3**


	6. Chapter 6

Holly gingerly placed her weight on her feet before sliding all the way off her makeshift hospital bed. Putting all her weight on her legs, Holly stepped away from her prison and grinned. Of her wounds, the ones on Holly's legs were actually not that bad. At worst, Holly had suffered a small gash from an unknown spell. However, the size of that particular wound didn't seem to matter to her kidnapper- err, doctor.

Careful not to jar her bandaged arm on anything, Holly started toward the door. Her arm had been the worst of her injuries by far; infected by dark magic from a powerful spell, Holly's Doctor had been convinced she'd been poisoned. Black magic had seeped into her blood-stream from the painful gash, and Holly's magic had lashed out trying to defend herself. As a result, Holly spent a week fighting the sickness, and without a proper magical healer, Holly should have died. She should have and would have it not for the Devil Fruit her Doctor possessed. Trafalgar Law, a young sadistic teen, had cut off her arm to purge it of the poisonous magic within her and miraculously it worked.

Law had recently reattached her arm, and Holly didn't think much of the spider-web scar left upon it, just like she didn't think much about the endlessly growing teeth that Law had cut out of her mouth. Though at one point he'd likely need to throw it overboard before they'd got too ridiculously long, that or hopefully they'd run out of magic and the spell would stop. Holly hoped for the former if only to spare herself the mental image of her teeth just growing endlessly at the ocean floor, and eventually becoming so long that they escaped the water, and-

Holly shook off the thought and turned the door handle to escape the med-bay, which was really just a spare room in the apartment building Law and his 'crew' currently rented. Knowing she'd timed it well, Holly left her room to finally escape and started venturing outward. Sachi, Penguin, and Law all went to medical school, though Holly was rather sure they weren't actually paying to do that. She was, in fact, relatively sure they were just taking supplies and books to learn, as well as sneaking into classes, but she had no real proof. Holly also knew that now that she was on the mend, the three had been actively returning to learn leaving the behind a singularly odd guard.

Bepo.

Now that had been a shock, a full-sized speaking bear. Holly had never seen the likes of Bepo before, not in the Muggle nor the magical one, not even from Remus' many stories. Oh, she'd already realized she was in Remus' world, the very same as her soulmate. It had taken her only moments of thought focused on the shadow that had swallowed her up too put two and two together. Not the mention the marines Law kept scowling over, his Devil Fruit, the sheer amount of ocean outside of her window, and of course, Bepo.

Holly was in a brand new world and had been taken in by a sadistic but ultimately kind teen. A boy who'd taken her off the streets saving her, healing her, and asked for nothing. Nothing but answers to how she received her wounds in return. She was lucky. Lucky that she could now access her second god-father on the island he'd mentioned all of once, fortunate that her soulmate was now available to her and answers to his state was finally in reach. She was lucky.

So why was her heartbreaking?

Sirius. Her father in all the ways that counted. The man who ensured she got her wand, that cared for her. The one that hugged her when she was sick and panicked when she broke her arm. The wet dog launching into her bed because he'd wanted to prank her. Her father had been left behind, and Holly had no idea if she'd ever seen him again. Her shadow had brought her to safety just as it had protected her in the past. But using it go back? Holly didn't know if that was possible, let alone if she should. If she did, she could very well lose any chance at reaching her skeleton at all.

Holly didn't know anything, but she couldn't stop thinking herself into circles, and being trapped in bed wasn't helped either.

She cast her eyes to the floor and the shadow under her feet, the odd thing that followed absolutely no rules. No one's shadow did what hers did; they didn't remain motionless, didn't drag people all over the world, didn't resemble skeletons. Her soulmate, her shadow, was abnormal. One more oddity to her entire being.

Bepo was in the small living room when she found him. The large white bear was hunched over a medical text in a language she couldn't even begin to fathom. He mumbled to himself in utter focus as he memorized facts and practiced motions with his paws with a shocking intensity. Holly watched him for a moment, watched the thrill, and focus as his shadow twisted behind him. Bepo's shadow was an animal as well, resembling a cat of some kind going by the ears and tail. It, as she watched, signed in a slightly different way than she had been taught, and it soured her mood further.

Huffing silently, Holly turned and crept away this time toward the small kitchen. She knew very well how to cook, a side effect from her early years with the Dursley and Sirius' complete inability. But cooking was not currently her goal. At that point, Holly was just exploring - that and the exit to the apartment was in front of Bepo, and she wasn't stupid enough to think he'd miss her opening it.

She was correct, of course, for the moment she had her back to Bepo, Bepo had his attention on her. Black eyes glittered as he gave a pleased smile. Law had asked him to ensure Holly didn't leave the apartment but did attempt to walk around that afternoon; it was essential for her healing for her to be active. Truthfully, though she didn't know it, they intended to take her out to explore the island that night. Sachi had recommended the shopping area, which would be lit up for the holiday season.

Silently Holly looked around, inspecting items from a brand new world and just venturing around to get her mind off everything that had happened. When it occurred to her. True, she wasn't technically allowed to use her wand unless she graduated because of the trace. Technically, Sirius had intended to get by that by having her sent to Ilvermorny or teaching her himself in a magically public area. It was why they owned a building in a magical village in the middle of Mexico, and why it had been warded to high hell so they'd never be discovered. But technically Holly wasn't in that world, and therefore would have no trace.

She could practice magic wherever she bloody wanted to!

Forgetting her guard entirely, Holly darted back to her room and threw herself toward her side-table. Within were Holly's bloodied clothing from the other world, a small change pouch of money that didn't work in the Blues, and her wand. She couldn't believe she'd forgotten about it. Holding the wood loose in her fingertips, Holly thought back on the spells she'd seen Sirius use and the few he'd taught her with his own wand. Deciding to go simple with a shield spell Holly twisted her wrist and-

Bepo was thrown forward when a loud boom went off in Holly's room. It was followed by a pained yelp and a loud swear. Quickly he launched to his paws and hurled himself toward his young charges room, tossed open the door, and immediately recoiled. Thick black smoke billowed out of the room, and Bepo rushed to cover his sensitive nose. Ducking below the smoke, Bepo waved his free paw and spotted Holly.

She was against her bed, staring at the stick in her hand like it had betrayed her. And- yes, her wound had reopened. Cringing at what Law would say, Bepo strode forward, opened the window to let the smoke out - he really hoped the Marines didn't come to inspect the reason for it - and approached Holly just in time for her to notice the pain. Pained, guilty tears welled up in her eyes as she turned toward him.

"I… I've done it before… why didn't it work!" she cut off with a hiccuping sob, "it… should have worked!" Everything that had happened to her rushing to the surface all at once and her tears spilled over. Bepo gave a whimper and tugged her into his lap and fur. Soothingly he ran a paw down her hair and internally sighed. The girl had been a mess when Law had brought her, covered in unexplainable injuries that Law took upon himself to heal. They all knew that if he hadn't that the girl would have died ignored by the general public or in a hospital waiting room because of the oddities to her wounds and shadow. The crew, as it was the four of them, were learning the medical field slowly through relatively illegal means and they were by no means proper surgeons. But the training they had was better than nothing for the kid. A kid who got odder and odder every day, from the shadow to the story she told of how she'd come by her wounds and the island.

Magic, alternate worlds, a shadow that swallowed her whole. Penguin was convinced she had been traumatized by a devil fruit user, but Bepo scented no lie when she'd told her tale. He believe her, believed there was another world and it made him all the sorrier for her. This was a new world, and Holly had lost everything she'd ever known. Bepo understood on a certain level. He understood, which is why he was relieved that Law had decided she would be staying with them. Perhaps simply because he wanted to know more, or because that kindness he kept carefully hidden was coming out. Regardless, Holly was theirs. A fifth member of their crew, whether she knew that or not.

"S-sorry-" she sobbed, and Bepo continued to pet her hair all the while her odd shadow remained utterly still behind her… wait.

"Could it be?" he whispered, he'd have to look into it but… it was a possibility he'd have to mention to Law. For, what else could mess with a shadow that much but a devil fruit?

* * *

Law took one look at the smoke damaged walls and closed his eyes to prevent the incurring headache. After a moment, he snapped his eyes to Bepo, who immediately started to apologize. Holly was no better as she furiously blushed but confessed nothing. 'Good for her,' he thought, except no one else could have done it, so she'd chosen the wrong time to act innocent. Not to mention Bepo was giving her up at the very same moment.

"Well?" He demanded.

Her nose scrunched as she confessed: "I… may have misjudged how much stronger my spell would be with a proper wand. But it wasn't like I knew Sirius' was a bad match and-" her mouth snapped closed and she stared at the ground: "sorry."

Sachi snickered behind him, and Law shot the teen a glare to quell the nose. Instead, he focused on the most glaring problem: "you could have reopened your injury-" the guilt increased tenfold, and Law found himself focusing more intensely on her arm. "You did open it."

"Maybe…"

"Sorry! I'm sorry, Captain!"

He pinched his nose and just groaned. "Do you have any idea what your rate of infection is? Your body isn't used to the diseases from this world! A single cough from an infectious child could-" he lost himself in his lecture as the pair got smaller and smaller with each world. Honestly, he didn't blame either of them. Holly had been bound to press her boundaries, and Bepo wasn't the most attentive babysitter. Still, if they were going to risk her wounds, then Law would _ensure_ they knew _exactly_ what could happen.

On the positive, Holly would be learning plenty of essential facts which she'd need if she was going to join his crew. Law intended for every member of the Heart-Pirates to have a basic understanding or better of medical terminology and practice.

Once finished, he told the pair to get ready, they had a plan, and they'd be sticking to it. They had a festival to visit and a book-shop to visit on the way.

"Captain…"

"Yes, Bepo?" he glanced at his first-mate as Sachi helped Holly get ready for the night.

"Holly's shadow… do you think a devil fruit user did something to her soulmate?"

Law arched a brow and inclined his head. Now that was a functional theory.

* * *

Remus slipped several coins to the pirate captain before he moved away. He'd observed the crew the entire time they'd been on the island before giving any information to them, not all the information that was.

Three captains so far had been chosen over the previous two weeks, three men Remus had selected by their scent and actions on the island. The first had been a kindly figure, the second chaotic but defensive of children, and the third relatively neutral. To each of the three Remus had weaved together a story of his kidnapped daughter, of a girl with Holly's description who'd been taken by pirates and not celestial dragons which no one would interfere with. He'd paid the three off for information, to have them send him a message if they ever spotted her.

It was the best he could do, which was basically nothing.

His god-daughter was lost in the Blue's, this violent world he'd been living in, the one her soulmate could be found in, and she had none of the defenses he did. She couldn't use the wand she had on hand because she knew no spells. She couldn't lose herself to the full moon and rip apart the foolish slavers that dared attempt to bind him- Remus snarled, his teeth tasting their blood on his tongue once more.

The celestial dragons, one single man, was the reason Remus had a bounty. He'd caught the attention of the wrong person in the early years of the Blue's, and apparition alone was what kept him from being caught years later. Oh, people had tried. But when he could, in an instant and a turn of his heel, be on a completely different island, the danger was minimal.

Remus, after all this time, had been to no more than five different islands in the West Blue. He'd caught a civilian ship or two to travel between islands on the hunt for any sign of a living skeleton. Each trip had been chosen specifically to fall within the time-line of a month, so Remus wouldn't be on a ship when transformed. And when the full moon did appear, Remus could always be found on an uninhabited island where no humans roamed, and he could wander free of cursing another human with his bite. Five islands. Five and not one out of the West Blue. Holly could be anywhere in the world at large, and he had no way to track or find her. The point me spell failed because she was too far out, Remus had never learned the scry, and he knew of no other tracking methods. Sirius was actively looking into more, but to recreate any usually required a potion which he couldn't brew without magical ingredients. Yet it didn't stop them.

This was their god-child, their Holly, and he'd stop at nothing to find her. Even if it meant swimming to islands, developing a new tracking method, or chaining himself up on the full moons on a civilian ship.

Heaving a sigh, Remus caught sight of his shadow as Sirius signed to him, swearing up and down that he wasn't giving up. That he would find a way to find their girl. That he'd make a deal with the devil to do so. Remus believed him… for Sirius already had.

A world away, Sirius sat surrounded by books on all sides. They littered the floor with pages open and would no doubt make his 'generous' hosts freak out. Truthfully he was waiting for the reaction since he only actually needed and was reading one of them. Thinking of his hosts, Sirius remembered what happened moments after his kid had been snatched away by her shadow.

* * *

"you absolute moron! What are you doing? Run!"

He glanced up as a thin hand clamped down on his upper arm. The voice niggled at his memory, but the face was shrouded in a cowl so he could not see his rescuer. He tried to peer beyond the hood as she yanked him backward out of the way of a splashing yellow spell. Like dead weight Sirius was pulled before the woman; before his rescuer and the one person in the entire crowd not trying to kill or arrest him, gave up moving him and apparated on the spot.

The world twisted and squeezed before Sirius was bodily dumped on pristine stone, and his rescuer started to cover her tracks with a surge of skilled magic. She used dark magic to ensure no trace of her magic was left behind to be tracked. It was a spell that drove Aurors mad during the war. Invented by the Dark Lord himself even though many forgot or ignored that fact when the Order stole and started to use it.

The use of it narrowed down who had saved him but confused him all the more because… why would she?

Pushing himself off the ground and into a defensive position despite the way his ribs protested - likely broken - Sirius faced his 'savior.' A woman who definitely wanted something, even if that was the desire to cover her own ass if the rumors of Holly being a dark lady or Voldemort revived, were true.

"Narcissa." He greeted as he firmed his grip on his wand.

"Oh, enough." She snapped and stormed away from the entrance room hall, "honestly, use your brain, if I wanted you dead I'd have left you there… cousin."

"Why didn't you?"

Narcissa tossed her hair over her should and said with her back to him, showing just how little she was threatened by him with her body language. "I'm not discussing business in the entrance hall; have some class, Sirius."

"I believe you were the one who told me I had none." He said so, but he followed her. A distant plan was forming in his head as his mind caught up to what had happened. Even still, Sirius quickly signed to Remus. To explain that he had lost their god-daughter, to tell his mate who was already so far from him the one thing that could genuinely shatter their bond. But Holly… she was in that violent world Remus had told him about, and she came first, even before his own soulmate.

Sirius entered the reception room behind Narcissa and watched as his cousin elegantly seated herself and crossed her fingers. He choose to sit to ease the pain in his ribs, rather than petulantly remain standing to annoy her. He might have done it regardless if he were speaking to his mother, but Narcissa would never reach that level of sheer hatred in his eyes.

"Now, shall we do business, Cousin?"

In the end, their agreement was rather simple. Narcissa, Lucius, and Draco had a nonaggression pact with him, and Holly, a truce to not harm each other, worked into the broader agreement. On his side, Sirius was getting allies to find and protect Holly. They'd give him every resource to find her, and when she was found, they would ensure she was protected from the dregs of society - Lucius' words not his. Narcissa, in return, became the head of the Black family. The ring, the wealth, the power all went to her and would eventually go to her son, and if should anything happen to Draco, then it would pass to Holly or Draco's child.

For Sirius, it was an easy payment to pay. He was far wealthier than the remains of what was left in the Black vault, he cared nothing for the homes left behind and untouched, or the dark items hidden away. He couldn't use the power as a wanted mad, and Holly cared little for it. But what Narcissa and Lucius offered… that he needed.

So he made the trade.

"There is one thing I need to ask." Sirius ended the conversation with the question plaguing his mind most, the one drawing his attention the moment Lucius returned home to join the discussion.

"Yes?" Narcissa asked, linking her fingers together and giving him her full attention.

"Is he alive?"

There was no doubt to whom he was referring, the only uncertainty would be if they actually answered and what he'd do with that information.

"As it stands," Lucius spoke up calmly as he smothered the shake in his hands, "yes. What his state is, we cannot fathom… but the Dark Lord lives."

Sirius bobbed his head in a parody of a nod before saying quite simply. "Well… hell."


End file.
